Tormentor
by milky0candy
Summary: Post OoTP. Harry decides to leave the Dursley's home. His world will soon be shattered as he uncovers realities concerning the link he has with Voldemort. Independent!Dark Heir!Dementor!Powerful!Harry. Not the usual type
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

**A/N: ** The universe belongs to JKR….i'm just fooling around with it. I know this is a quite short chapter but it will get better (and longer . )

The sky above Privet Drive was pitch black, starless. The only lights left came from the street lanterns, feebly lighting the areawith a yellowish halo. Everything was seemingly asleep… Yet, a young man, lieing in the small bed under the staircase at house number 4 was still wide awake. His thoughts were like a restless ocean, a storm of fury, hetred and culpability.

Sirius's face haunted him…he saw him everywhere, at every corners. All the time. Sadly staring at him.

"You failed me, Harry…". It was what Harry always heard within his mind. Slowly his mournfull thoughts envelopped Dumbledore's image, slowly morphing into anger.

It was all Dumbledore's fault. The fact that he ws living in this hellhole, the fact that he was kept in the dark….the fact that he had to face a dark Lord at 11 years old, a basilisk at 12….He could've been killed for countless times, and yet all the headmaster ever did was to look at him approvingly. And Sirius…and the prophecy…such a perfect timing to announce it! Telling Harry about this burden while his godfather just died. His hopes for a normal life vanished.

Hah! Normal…normalcy was now an utopia. And ofcourse, there was the wizarding population, oh always so supportive. Harry mused, sarcastically. Manipulated idiotic mass…And the ministry, waiting for someone else to do the dirty job, finding a scapegoat when something wrong occurs. Wretched world.

Harry knew that he shouldn't accuse the old headmaster this way. The man went through several wizarding wars already, it is unfair to expect more of him. Reality slowly crept in Harry's mind ; the man was old. His intentions were good, but he doesn't have the mind to consider every aspects anymore.

But enough is enough. Harry will never let anyone else control his life. He will find out all the truths, he will gain more strenght. He will be respected as a powerful wizard, not as the bloody-boy-who-fucking-lived (and-yet-should-fucking-die for some)….Golden Boy….Dumbledore's Pet…. He must leave this hellhole and live on his own. Harry kept thinking about the multipled possibilities and choices he now had, before the sandman came, making him fall asleep…


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

The sky was still dark when Harry woke up. He pulled out his sweat covered sheets and jumped off his bed. This was the day. This will be a new beginning – Harry thought. He packed all of his belongings in his trunk before closing it, keeping only his invisibility coat with him. He shot one last glance at his alarm clock : 3 am. It was time to leave, as the Dursleys were most likely asleep.

Suddenly a tapping noise halted him midtrack. A brown barn owl was trying to enter through the window. Harry opened it before catching the letter, and recognised the Gringott's seal before tearing the envellope open.

_Dear Mr Potter,_

_We are pleased to announce that, according to Lord Black's will, you are now Lord of the Black line as well as the Potter's line. This involves the fact that the Black family vaults, assets and real estates are thereby your posession._

_For further discussions, please specify a date and time for a meeting,_

_Best Regards,_

_Ragnok_

_Manager of the Black Vaults_

Harry shutted his eyes, smiling slightly. Oh yes, it was both painful and yet great news. His heart clutched as he thought of Sirius…but no. He must leave his past behind. This, indeed will be useful. Harry decided that he will reply later when he will get out of this house (and he didn't want to open his trunk just to get a quill). He wore his invisibility cloak and walked out of the house, trying to make as few noises as possible. He spotted Mundungus Fletcher, drowsy and hiding behind the bushes. Harry grinned before he went past the wards protecting the Dursley's property.

He was now a free man.

Harry walked on the silent alley. He didn't want to summon the Knight Bus, knowing that he would be spotted. He walked for a while before feeling raindrops falling on his hand…Just GREAT – Harry thought, darkly. The small rain turned into a stormy shower, thunder growling through the air. Harry was dramped, his wet hair falling on his face. His visibility was reduced ; his surroundings was blurry. He walked for what seemed to be hours under the heavy rain and went across a park. He hided under a tree, shivering.

The air around him started to freeze – it felt like a cold knife cutting straight to his bones. The nearby roundabout creaked, grimmly complementing the atmosphere…

And Harry saw them. Dementors. Dozens of cloaked figures wandered around the park. Harry kicked his trunk open, frenetically looking for his wand.

"No….where is it? Damn…..fuck! No!" Harry mumbled, fear taking over him. He realised that he had left his wand at the Dursley's cursed his own stupidity.

It was already too late as the dementors circled him. The screaming sounds of his mother echoed through his soul as a black bony hand stretched out to reach his face.

And Harry felt it. HE felt his life essence leaving his body slowly. A void slowly filled parts of his mind as his soul started to leave his body.

No….no….His soul must remain. Harry struggled. No. NOOOOOOOOOO! He inwardly screamed. He breathed in, trying to gain back the part of his soul that already left his body.

And he knew no more.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

**A/N : **I know that my chapters had been ridiculously short so far. Hope this one is an improvement!

Harry slowly opened his eyes ; it felt like centuries since he last woke up. Yet, the sky was still dark, even if he could see the sun peeking through. He was still there, lieing under his invisibility coat, at the root of the tree. Harry frowned ; everything was blury. He reached his round shaped glasses ; his arm almost felt lifeless. He took his glasses off and blinked in disbelief. He could see perfectly, even better than he remembered in the dark. Puzzled, he tried to sit up, ignoring the pain each moves caused. He winced, gritting his teeth : the last thing he could remember was the dementor's kiss. His eyes darted around, uneasily, before he felt his blood leave his face. There was a dementor floating right in front of him ….but he didn't feel anything…._Why are they not affecting me? I don't feel the cold…I don't hear the screams…_

"_What…what the hell?"_ He breathed out. His throat was hoarse and painful.

"_Greetings, Master Tormentor" _The dementor rattled, before gliding to him gracefully. Harry gaped at him, shocked. _How could this be?_ It looks like he understands and speak the dementor language.

"_What? Excuse me?" _ Harry sputtered, unable to correctly word his emotions. _"I can talk to you!"_

"_I called you master Tormentor, because it is what you are now" _the dementor spoke out. Harry's brow furrowed, not knowing what to think of this.

"_What happened?"_ He blurted out.

"_One of our kind tried to take your soul away, Tormentor. But there was a bond within you so strong that your soul refused to leave your body. Instead, you took in the essence of my brother and it is now attached to your soul" _The dementor explained. To say that Harry was stunned was an understatement. He tried to let the information sink in. What was he now? A human dementor?

"_Why do you think, I mean errrr why was my soul so attached to my body? I never knew that one could survive the kiss…" _Harry asked, scratching his forehead.

"_I am not sure, master Tormentor."_ The dementor rasped out. "_I have heard only of two humans who ever did so. And it was such a long time ago – centuries! They are almost legends among out kind. We believe that only one of exceptional willpower can resist the kiss" _

Harry's thoughts focused on a memory…when the fake Moody tried to imperio him in his fourth year. Yes, he was able to resist the imperio curse. It was because of his mental willpower. Harry gazed up to the hooded blackness:

"_Why do you call me tormentor? I mean, what IS a tormentor?" _Harry asked, confusedly.

"_It is the way we call you in our tradition, because you are no longer a human._ _You gained_ _some of our characteristics. I believe that you will inflict fear and distress to whom you wish to, unlike us. But you will also be unable to control it if you let negativity – anger and hatred – reign over you. You can consume souls …just like us…but you will not fear patronuses " _ The dementor elaborated. Harry was flabbergasted for a while, before he mulled over the information he had received. He felt a little nauseated about the last information.

"_You will also be able to melt in the shadows, master Tormentor…" _The hooded figure continued. Harry's head shot up, anxiousness written all over his face.

"_What do you mean, melt in the shadows?"_

"_You can become invisible in places or time when the sun no longer reigns. At will"_

Harry's train of thought abruptly stopped at that statement. This might become handy…really handy. But fear overtook Harry's mind ; will his personality be affected by this new development? And his physical appearance? He didn't want to look like a dementor. Suddenly, the dementor held his face with it's bony hands and stared at him.

"_This is strange….you look….the same" _ The dementor whispered out. _Oh I'm very glad I do –_ Harry thought sarcastically.

" _Thank you for your time, master dementor. But I am afraid I must take my leave before the city gets overcrowded"_ Harry saluted the dementor.

"_Before leaving, master tormentor, please accept this humble present. It belonged to my brother"_ The dementor held out a black hooded cloak of long ripped out cloth. A dementor's cloak. Harry took it, gratefully – who knows when it might get helpful.

"_Thank you, master dementor…oh, what is your name?" _Harry inquired

"_I am called by my brethren Mawulrik. I must go also, master tormentor. I bid you a nice day" _The dementor said before gliding away.

Harry letted out a sight. _Yup, normalcy…indeed._ He opened his trunk and folded the cloak. He must think about getting a new wand…and train wandless magic. After all, the ministry's tracking spell is set on each formally made wands. He could use wandless magic without being tracked.

So it was with determination that Harry walked out of the park. He needs to find a muggle hotel or inn for now – cheap one. He didn't have much muggle money on him and didn't want to stay at the Leaky Cauldron – anyone would spot him then. So he walked for a while under his invisibility coat, pulling his heavy trunk around, randomly bumping into muggles at times.

_What the fuck am I doing?_ Harry thought, making sure no muggles were around before he pulled his invisibility coat off. He waved at a cab, and the car stopped in front of him. Harry sat, before pulling his trunk in.

"Good Morning"

"Good Morning sir, where can I bring you?" The cab driver turned around and smiled at him.

"Do you know any inns or cheap hotels near Charing Cross Road?" Harry exquired. The driver mumbled for a while, obviously concentrating on his memory

"Ah yes, there's this quite decent one. Called Sherlock's Inn. Pretty cheap actually, something around 10 pounds a night" He replied.

"Off we go then" Harry declared, joyfully. Twenty minutes later, the cab stopped nearby a wooden entry door. The word's "Sherlock's Inn" was engraved on it.

"It's 25 pounds, sir". Harry handed the money to the driver. "Keep the change". The driver beamed at him before thanking him and wishing him a good day. Harry stood in front of the entry door, staring at the victorian façade, before grabbing the rusty doorknob and entering.

Smoke, beer and loud conversations were Harry's first impression. Apparently the first floor served as a pub, and a simingly popular one. It was overcrowded by a male population, discussing politics and football scores. Harry approached the counter, where a young man was standing and making coktails.

"What may I do for you sir?" The smiling young man's eyes fixed Harry's own.

"I'd like to get a room" Harry replied. "Until tomorrow evening" Harry continued, guessing the man's unworded question.

"We have exactly everything you need sir. You'll pay upon check out. Breakfast included…Here are the keys". The man handed him a key where was written a number "9". "Room number nine is on the first floor, right on your left." Harry nodded and thanked the man before turning towards the flight of stairs.

"Oh sir you can leave your trunk here, I'll have somebody bring it up for you. By the way what is your name?". Harry hesitated, before answering.

"Harold…Harold Preston"

"Pleasure, sir" The barman smiled. "I'm Alistair". Harry grinned at the man before climbing up the stairs.

Room number 9 was a nice, cosy looking little room. Obviously clean, with simple furnitures : one single bed covered with white sheets,a night table, a wardrobe. Harry took his shoes off and waited for his luggages. Harry glanced at the clock : It was 7:30 am. Harry thought that some sleep wouldn't do any bad, so he took off his pants and glided under the covers.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

It was all foggy and Harry was there, wearing the dementor's cloak. Thousands of screams reached his ears like a delicious melody of pain. He never felt so blissful…he wanted to souls to scream…to scream…

And he jerked up from his bed, sweat pearling his face. Yet, delight ruled within his mind. It was the strangest dream he ever had ; the most disturbing and yet the most pleasant. It felt like he wanted to souls to scream, to beg for mercy. But Harry also felt revolted…What was wrong with his mind? He quickly pushed the controversial thoughts aside and checked time. _Noon…Merlin, I slept that long?_

He stood up, stretching himself and got dressed. He decided that it was high time he replied to Gringotts. He grabbed a quill and scribbled on a parchment, setting a meeting at 3 pm. He then attached the letter to Hedwig's claw. The owl hooted, before nibbling his ear and flying away. Harry smiled, before starting to plan his summer. He should spend time looking for books and studying, understand the concept and structure of magic. He should also learn arithmancy, runes for spellcraft and catch up on potions. Or at least learn basic necessary potion recipe by heart such as the blood resplenishing one. And ofcourse, he must attempt wandless magic and study offensive witchcraft and battle techniques. He sighed, cursing himself for not studying when he had the chance to. Without any knowledges, how on earth would he go and defeat Voldemort?

_By facing Voldemort in a battle and declaring his undying love….ha..ha..ha_ Harry thought, darkly.

His stomach grumbled ; He didn't have lunch yet so he climbed down the stairs. The pub wasn't

crowded as this morning. Harry sat at the counter

"Hullo Harold! Wanna drink something?" Alistair asked, cheerfully.

"Nah..do you serve lunch here?"

"Oh no , sorry we don't. Only breakfast. There's a good chinese at the corner" Alistair informed him.

Harry thanked him before heading to the chinese restaurant, ordering some whon ton and cantonese rice. He paid, left and went back to his room. He should go to Diagon Alley ; he didn't want to be invisible but he didn't want to be recognised. Maybe he should wear the dementor's cloak. Hopefully it would make people stay away from him, and he didn't wanted to be pointed out as a Hogwart's student either.

_To Hell if I scared people's shit out!_ Harry snickered, pulling the dementor's coat out. He kept it folded

and walked through Charing Cross Road before reaching the Leaky Cauldron. He wore the cloak, realising that it had shrunken to his size. A feeling of security overflowed him. He no longer felt anxious…he no longer felt anything. It was strange in it's own way. He pulled the hood up and entered the wizarding inn.

The place was unusually silent ; only couple of customers were spotted, all arboring grim looks.

_Oh yes…Voldemort IS back. _Several wanted posters were hung around the place. Harry traversed the pub, ignoring anxious looks people threw at him. He reached Diagon Alley ; it seemed that the wizarding shopping arcade most of it's liveliness. People walked rapidly, avoiding each other. Several aurors were stationed there, watching everything with attention. Harry weaved his way to Gringotts, easily. Kingsley eyed him suspiciously and pedestrians coiled around him. He guess he was looking intimidating, wearing this cloak.

Upon entrance, he greeted a goblin and asked for Ragnok.

"And may I ask who is willing to see Ragnok?" The goblin spurted out menacingly. Harry couldn't help but smile

"Harry Potter, master goblin" Harry said. The goblin's eyes widened at the display of curtesy

"Hold out your hand". Harry did as instructed and stuck a few fingers of his left hand from under his cloak. The goblin used a needle to retrieve a drop of Harry's blood and casted an identification spell on it.

_Goblin magic…_ Harry stared in awe.

"Please follow me, Mr Potter". Harry reached a small meeting room ; all furnitures were carved in white marble. The room was beautiful. Harry spotted two goblins sitting at the sides of the table. He recognised Griphook. The other one was probably Ragnok

" Greetings Masters Griphook and Ragnok" Harry said, inclining his head curtly. Griphook was obviously flabbergasted ; he didn't expect Harry to remember his name. Ragnok just grinned

"Thank you for joining us today, Mr Potgter" Ragnok greeted. Harry sat down, pulling his hood up_._

"As you are aware of, we are present to discuss your inheritance" Ragnok continued. Harry nodded.

"You are now the Lord of the lines Potter and Black" Griphook announced. "The following presents the capital of both lines, some being kept within our vaults". Griphook handed Harry two parchments. Harry gasped, his jaw hanging

_**Black Line**_

_Assets : _ 30% Borgin and Burke

5% Comets broom maker

_Family Vault: _

- 180 000 galleons net

-74 books and other tomes of knowledge

-4 portraits

-98 magical artefacts (including 81 suspected dark)

-131 203 galleons worth jewellery and family heirlooms

_Properties : _12 Grimmauld Place

_**Potter Line:**_

_Assets :_

-25% Hogwarts school of Wizardry

-15% Flourish and Blotts printing company

-12% Zonko Jokes shop

-5% Nimbus broom maker

_Muggle Assets:_

-9,7% Stanford's & Winchester construction company

_Family Vault :_

-430 000 galleons net

-12 732 books and other tomes of knowledge

-27 portraits

-53 muggle based weapons

-26 magical artefacts (including 2 suspected dark)

-67 000 galleons worth jewellery and family heirlooms

_Properties : _Godric's Hollow village

To say that Harry was shocked was the understatement of the year. He knew he had money but he never knew he was so damn rich!

Ragnok stared at him before saying

"As the Lord of the Black line you have to right to choose whoever may enter the vault, withdraw money, earn from the assets or be disowned…"

"Is there anyone allowed to do so?" Harry asked. Ragnok smiled wickedly, before answering. " I believe that Narcissa Malfoy and Bellatrix Lestrange still earn from some of the assets…"

Harry reacted immediately.

"I thereby ban and disown Narcissa Malfoy nee Black and Bellatrix Lestrange Nee Black."

The Goblin nodded in aknowledgement. Griphook was filling in paperwork when he decided to meet Harry's gaze.

"As a Lord of the two lines, do you wish to merge them together?"

"What do you mean? " Harry asked, perplexed.

"Would you want to be known as Lord Potter, Lord Black or a new line that merge both families therefore creating a new name?" Griphook explained patiently

" So I will craft a new family name? And I will change mine?" Harry wondered. The possibilities are interesting. It would help him become anonymous…

"Yes, if you chose not to be Harry James Potter. You are not only the Potter heir but also the Black heir."

"I want to merge the two lines and craft myself a new name" Harry decided. Griphook turned back to the paperwork, discussing with Ragnok.

"Then please pick a new name Mr Potter, and take your time" Ragnok smiled. Harry asked for a quill and some parchments…

_Harry Potter…..Phytia Terror…ridiculous…_ Harry scratched out the first proposition

_Harry James Potter…._anagrams are so interesting….Harry thought for a while, before scribbling down his new name excitedly

_Ajas Terror Mephysto._


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

**A.N : **I kinda thought that the anagram was cool. Considering that Mephysto makes me think of Mephisto, demon from european folklore. Or another name for Satan. Nevermind, dude's specialised in offering to people stuff in exchange of their souls. Thought it would match for Harry since he's a tormentor :D

Harry smiled smuggly. Lord Mephysto…_hah!_ He handed the piece of parchment to the goblins. Ragnok smirked at the new name, aknowledgeing the new line.

"All the paperwork will be done by tomorrow, Mr Potter…or shall I say Mr Mephysto" Griphook said, not leaving his paperwork from his eyesight.

"Is it possible to merge the vaults? It will be more practical…" Harry asked. "Yet I also wonder if it's possible to separate the capital of each lines while they remain in one same vault…"

Griphook looked up to him, before grinning greedily : " Yes. It is possible and it will be done by tomorrow. Moving the vaults will cost an extra 130 galleons". Harry nodded, ready to pay.

"Is there anything I should be aware of? Who has access to the Potter Vault, else than me?" Harry, or now should I say, Ajas questionned. Griphook and Ragnok stared at each other, uncomfortably before answering : " Albus Dumbledore has access to your vault, Mr Mephysto"

Anger immediately flared up in Ajas mind. His brow furrowed in discontentment ; How dare the old codger access people's vault like that? It wasn't even on his parent's will! Suddenly, Ajas noticed that the goblins shivered and started to grow pale. He wondered what it was, before realising that it was his deeds. _Right…tormentor. _ He tried keeping his temper at bay and felt the goblins relax_. _They exchanged some words in gobbledegook, worry dripping from their voices.

" I hereby deny him access to my vault." Ajas announced. Griphook nodded. "Also, I would like to grant Andromeda and Nymphadora Tonks access to the Black's capital."

Griphook continued dealing with paperwork, while Ragnok paused, meeting Ajas's gaze.

"Do you wish to make a blood test to see if you are heir to other lines, extinct ones? Then you can also merge them". The idea of having more vaults and inheritance seduced Ajas – he needed all the help and funding he could get.

"Yes, please. When can it be done?" Ajas questionned. Ragnok smirked, before informing him :

"Right now. It will cost extra 25 galleons"

Ajas smiled. Oh those goblins….He nodded. Griphook took out a small object from his vest, some kind of cube, before speaking into it.

"Rabarok! Bring the inheritance testing material!". Ajas figured it worked like a muggle talkie-walkie. Not more than 2 minutes later, a brown skinned goblin entered the meeting room. He just left a vial and a silver knife on the table before leaving, no words being pronounced. Griphoo grasped Ajas's arm, before slicing his skin with the silver knife. Ajas winced in pain, but said nothing. The blood flowed into the vial and the wound healed itself when it was over.

Ragnok watched the whole scenery, before adding:

"You will receive the results tomorrow afternoon Mr Mephysto. Between 1 to 5 pm"

Ajas nodded, his face remaining expressionless. He never felt having such a lack of…feelings. He wondered if being a tormentor affected his psyche, but for now it will be an advantage – he hoped he wouldn't be as easy to read as before. The meeting came to an end, and Ajas stood up. He was about to leave to room when he smacked his own forehead – _I'm a fucking idiot at times…_

"Oh, Master Goblins, may I visit my vaults? I wish to make a withdrawal" He inquired. Griphook turned his nose up and made a beckoning motion with his hand.

"Please follow me, Mr Mephysto".

_Oh, those hellish carts again…_Dizziness took over Harry before the cart made it's first stop in the serpenting entered the Potter's vault, number 687. He never took his time to explore it before, and for once he went beyond the pile of gold.

Bookshelves filled the right corner of the gigantic decided that he should snatch out some books, and spent some time looking among the shelves. HE asked Griphook if he could spend some time and the goblin answered that he only served the Potter line, therefore had only one client.

Ajas decided to pick up the following titles ; _The Encyclopedia of Defensive Magic_ , _The Magical Energy_ , _Everyday Charms and what YOU need to know_ , _Weapon Crafting_ , _Introduction to Runic Magick_ , _Arithmancy, Mathematics, Physics and Spellcrafting_ , _Potion ingredients and their interactions_ ,_ Tome of Wandless Art_ , _Soul Studies or how to shield and attack other's mind_ . Griphook handed him a charmed pouch, where he deposited the books he chose. Then he went exploring the left corner, where labelled crates were piled. There was a box in a far corner, and Harry opened. Inside resided a golden signet ring with two rubies on the side. It was labelled the Potter's Head of Line ring. Ajas turned over to Griphook

"Is it possible to merge the family rings?"

Griphook smiled, exposing his sharp teeth.

"Yes, it can be done. You wish to merge the Black and Potter rings? It will also be done by tomorrow" He snatched the box out of Ajas's palm. Ajas shrugged before starting to look at the crates's contents, and shuffled through the magical artefacts containing crate. Most of them were labbelled, some remained unidentified. He found a multifunctional wristwatch that would vibrate when someone designed as "enemy" or having malicious intents would approach. It also provides shielding from minor hexes to the bearer. He also took out a small golden band that would help him concentrate on a magical aura to determine whether it was dark or not, and Ajas wore it at his middle finger. When he was about to leave, his gaze fell on a book that seemed to be purposely left apart ; _Glamours, bloodline glamours and how to hide your escapade's result_. He gave it one last curious glance before picking it up – learning glamours WILL be useful. He then took several handful of galleons before sitting in the cart again.

"To Vault number 711" Griphook announced. Another mad drive and Ajas stood at the Black Vault's entrance, slightly green.

The amount of gold was smaller, and Ajas walked past it. There was one bookshelf in the vault, some of the books being extremely ancient. Some titles caught his eyes – _Blood Magick_ , _The Most Complete Tome of Offensive Magick in Duelling_. The last one contained dark magic spells also.

Ajas stood ,facing the shelves, wondering. He had to fight Dark Magic…How can he fight them without knowing them? And some "Light" magic spells can also be casted with ill intents and become harmful. Where is the boundaries between dark and light? He questionned himself, and felt that his opinion might've been biased. It all depended on the intent, didn't it? He felt perplexed, staring at some of the books.

He decided to pick up _Introduction to distanced Dark Curses Casting _ and _Magick Moste Evile_ . He then went towards the crates, exploring the contents. With the golden band, he could sense the auras better and almost jerked away when he touched a crate filled with dark items. He decided , being the foulhardy he was at times, to look over the dark items. He found 6 charmed silver daggers coated with poison that would only respond to the Lord of the Line and immediately took them, along with the dagger holsters. He attached the holsters to his hips and wrists, hiding the daggers in them.

He didn't want to venture further in the crate of dark artefacts when he felt a slight humming from one of the objects. He approached it, feeling so repelled by it's darkness. And yet, he couldn't help but feel attracted to it in someway. It was as if some parts of him was attached to that item, and he felt it would provide him protection one day. He opened the small crate containing it and found a locket in it. It was a heavy gold locket with a serpentine S with emeralds inlay on the front. Ajas felt fascinated by it and carefully grabbed it before dropping it in his pouch. _I will study it…._

He looked around for a while before stepping onto something hard….

:Foolish Human! How dare you?:

Ajas stared down and gaped ; he stepped on a silver snake. The snake glared at him furiously with it's ruby eyes.

:My apologies…: He muttered in parseltongue before stepping away

:You speaker?: The silver cobra flared it's hood, looking straight into Ajas's eyes.

:Yes….What are you?:

:I was originally Mistress Gaunt pet snake…Master Black, her husband, thought that I was "Useless"…HAH! Useless…: The snake hissed, before continuing :And so he used soul magic, transferring my soul to a silver snake shaped necklace. So here I am….Immune to curses and poisonous. My task is to protect my master….:

Ajas nodded. This silver snake…or necklace might be an interesting addition to his armory.

:When were you created?:

:Over 540 years ago, Sssspeaker: The snake hissed, bowing his head slightly.

:As I am now the Lord of the Black Line, will you come with me?: Ajas asked the snake. The snake hissed contentdly. Ajas picked it up and it coiled itself around Ajas's neck, forming a silver necklace. Ajas left the Black Vault, before sitting in the hellish carts once more. On his way back, he voiced :

"Master Goblin, does Gringotts offer anything similar to Muggle Credit Cards or debit Cards?". Griphook nodded before they reached the lobby.

"Please follow me Mr Mephysto" Griphook beckoned him. They went to one small office room (possibly Griphook's office). The goblin explained:

"The Black Vault, being a higher security Vault, will be extended as Potter's Vault contents will be moved there. The Black Vault will be renamed the Mephysto Vault. From now on, your Vault will be number 711". Ajas nodded, waiting for Griphook to expose his point. The Goblin took out a small golden plastic card and exerted multiple spells on it.

"Now I will need a drop of your blood, Mr Mephysto" He announced, before grabbing Ajas's hand and prickling his finger with a needle. The blood fell on the card and a pinkish glow surrounded it. After the glow disappeared, Griphook handed the card to Ajas.

"You see the black square here?" He pointed on the card. "It's the activator. When you purchase, just press your right thumb on the square, tell the sum and vault number it needs to be transferred to. For example, just touch it and say Sum X to Vault X. It only works for you. If someone else tries to use it, he or she will get a bad surprise" Griphook smirked, wickedly. "Also, it works as a muggle credit card if your want to shop in the muggle world."

Ajas thanked the goblin for his time before leaving the bank.

:So that was where I was in…Gringotts!: The silver companion hissed. Ajas smiled, scratching the snake's head.

:Oh yes….by the way, do you have a name?: He hissed almost inaudibly, making sure that only the silver snake could hear him. No…he didn't want people to point him as a parseltongue.

:I was called Balthazar: the snake answered, almost lovingly. It seemed like he loved the name.

:Balthazar it is then:

Ajas walked for a while through Diagon Alley before noticing a magical real estate announcement pannel at his left. He stared at it, his eyes darting between each announces. He stood there searching for a while before a small advertisement caught his gaze

_Appartment for sale on 3__rd__ Floor, Number 7 Basilius Alley, Magical London City Center._

_Size: 60 sq M. One bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, living room and study. _

_Connected to floo network, fully furnished._

_Price : 30 000 galleons._

_Posted : 2 years ago_

_Self Updating post._

Ajas brows furrowed – It was really cheap for what it seemed to be and he wondered why it wasn't bought yet. He checked the location on the provided map…_Right…walk into Knockturn. Second at my right…I'll check it tomorrow._

Ajas walked out of Magical London, avoiding everyone's gaze as well as everyone avoided him. For once he felt quite anonymous and a tad intimidating, with his cloak. He went back to his room in Sherlock's Inn and decided that he should spend his time studying for the evening.

**A.N: **Again. And it will be Ajas from now on, no more Harry… Hope ya don't mind. Please rate and review!


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

The sky was as black as the depth of a well but it didn't seem to bother Ajas as he studied in the dark. He coul discern the scriptures on the book as if it was daytime. Ajas's eyes skimmed over The Magical Energy's introduction, making sure he didn't omit any details. He reread the footnotes he carefully made at the sides of each paragraphs.

The author had a very interesting theory ; it opened new horizons in Ajas's mind. Such material had never been taught in Hogwarts while it was part of the curriculum in some shamanic higher magical studies establishment in Siberia. The author analysed the concept of magical practices and explains why "conventional", "institutionalised" magic may not be the best choice for everyone. For instance, the use of wands and pronounced spells ; it may help a majority of people to channel their magic but it's not universal. Some individuals may find wandless magic easier than practicing it with a wand. In fact, in numerous cultures, magic is done bare handed. It is the case of most asian countries because wandless magic there is thought as better. The same fact applies to the spells ; in every countries spells comes differently and yet they have the same effects. For an example, the chinese equivalent to "Petrificus Totalus" is "Fa Dai". This demonstrates the triviality of spells ; it's another mean to help channelling magic. Therefore, the author believes that magic depends on someone's will, which also explains how "accidental" magic happens.

According to the writer, magic is in fact energy in it's purest form. The energy that makes the universe, the energy that makes matter. Beings are magical because of a surplus of energy in their bodies – there's no such thing as a magical core and as long as a wizard/witch is alive, he/she can exert magic. He also affirms that since the universe is made of energy, it might be possible for wizard to draw magic from their surroundings ; it is why such things as ritual magic is necessary.

Ajas just felt his lids droop and he rubbed them. This theory about wandless magic might just apply to him and if it doesn't, it will be only a matter of training. On these thoughts, Ajas fell asleep.

He woke up a few hours later, feeling absolutely refreshed. It was strange in a way since Ajas only slept for 4 hours. He sat up, wondering – surely it was due to his changes ; after all he's no more human now, is he? He stretched himself and started doing his morning exercises : push ups, sit ups until his muscles felt he showered quickly, got dressed and went downstairs for breakfast.

Alistair served him eggs and bacon before speaking joyfully about last night's football match : Manchester United vs Liverpool. Ajas, not being a football fan anymore since he was 9, remembered that Man U was his favorite team. He used to discretely watch Man U playing on the telly.

He then left the pub, before entering the wizarding world. Once again he wore the dementor's cloak, gliding among the buildings. It was still early when Ajas took a turn into Knockturn Alley. The street was as grim as usual, almost empty at that time of the day. The sinister buildings towered above him but Ajas felt calm and comfortable with being there.

"Hey kid, watchya doin here?". An unshaved greasy haired, yellow teethed, tall and broadshouldered man asked. He then pushed Ajas against the wall, pointing his wand at the boy's neck before snickering

"Happen to have 'ny galleons on ya now?"

Ajas winced – the man's breath smelled like rotten corpses. Yet he felt no panic, no fear. Nothing. A complete lack of emotions, even if he had no wand on him. Ajas just sneered at the man, tasting his aura, tasting his feelings. It felt so delicious to feel someone's else sinful soul and he couldn't help relinquishing the idea. He stared straight into the man's eyes, smirking

"Now, it's none of your business isn't it?"

The man paled instantly, beads of sweat appearing on his face, his body convulsing violently. He backed off immediately, staring at Ajas in horror. Ajas almost squirmed in pleasure at the taste of this man's soul. So sinful….so fearing…so delicious. He couldn't help feeding on the man's distress but he knew he had to put an end to his ministrations. Because some small part of his brain screamed in outrage, accusing him to be a monster. Ajas reluctantly decided to leave the man but before he turned, the man asked :

"What….what…are you?" He muttered, fear overpowering his thoughts. Ajas smirked ;

"I'm called Lord Mephysto. Tell to your friends to leave any man dressed with a dementor's cloak alone…"

The man ran off, not daring to look back. _I'm starting to like this A LOT! _Ajas laughed to himself, before going deeper into Knockturn Alley. Then he reached Basilius alley, dimly lit and narrow. Yet it seemed more crowded than the main streets of magical London. Ajas observed for a while, hooded. It seemed that there was only males walking around; there were a few pubs, concert halls in the area and something that might be the wizarding version of sexshop. Laughters and loud conversations reached Ajas ears and he decided the explore the alley, looking for building number 4. He spotted it ; it was a large 3 storey building made of red bricks. Everything was red ; the lanterns hanging on the façade and the window shutters. The crystal entrance door was also framed by red metal. There was a large signboard popping over it, on which was written "The Red Orchids". He hesitated for while before…

"Hey! Hey boy!" A very beautiful black haired women called for him, her voice marked by a heavy russian accent. She was dressed in a mini red flashy dress with an incredibly deep low cut. Ajas couldn't help but blush. "You been standing out here for a while! Come in, don't hesitate! It won't cost much…"

Ajas replied immediately

"No I don't want any services you offer. I just saw that there was an appartment for sale at the third floor of this building but obviously it was fake…". The russian witch felt slightly stressed out and she stuttered:

"Yes yes yes please don't leave! There is an appartment for sale….Linda!There's a potential buyer!" She called out. The crystal door opene, revealing one of the most seductive women Ajas had ever seen…_probably a veela or a half one. She'd give Fleur a run for her money…_ The women beamed at him.

"Hello, I am Linda. I heard that you're interested in the appartment above?". Ajas nodded. The women addressed him the most charming smile she could give out, her golden hair waving like a flag behind her even if there was no wind. Ajas felt glad that he wasn't as affected by Veela charm as he used to be…_tormentor thing_, he inwardly noted.

"Quit your game, Linda. Now would you please show me the appartment?" Ajas said, his voice toneless. The veela paled slightly before inviting him into the building. It was only once he went through the door that he was assaulted by a mix of music, moans, groans, giggles and barks of laughter. Many scantily dressed witches ran around, sitting randomly on man's laps, sexually playing with them. On the far corner, several pole dancers were performing. Now Ajas understood why no one would buy this appartment; after all who would want to live in a building with a brothel at the first floor? But such details were trivial to Ajas ; he needed the appartment.

"Are there any silencing wards on the appartment?" He asked Linda. She smiled at him, before assuring that there are several layers of warding on the appartment. She then led him upstairs, to the third floor. The upper floors were rather nice. A red fitting carpet covered the ground and the walls were of a light pinkish tone. There were at least 20 wooden doors (_25 rooms? _Ajas questionned himself) on the second floor. Linda explained

"These are the girl's rooms. There are 5 more rooms on the 3rd floor and the appartment. It used to belong to the man pimping us, but he's in Azkaban now. This brothel is now a cooperative" . Ajas nodded at the information, still feeling the women's curious gaze on him. After all, no one saw his face and he was dressed in dementor rags. They reached the appartment ; it was large enough according to Ajas's floor was covered by a dark brown parquet ; the walls were light blue. There was no entrance hall, the door lead directly to the living room, but Ajas did not mind. There was a red brick chimney at the opposite, surrounded by 3 plushy looking blue couches and a small wooden table on a cream colored whool carpet. There were two doors at the left side ; the first one leading to a small kitchen and the second one leading to a rather large study. It was only furnished with a desk and a chair under a window. There was also 2 doors at the right side of the living room ; the first one leading to a small yet luxurious looking bathroom made of white marble and the second one leading the bedroom. It was furnished with a four poster double sized wooden bed, isolated from the room by thick plue carpets. It reminded Ajas of Hogwart's bed. There was a small nighttable at it's side, a wardrobe and another window.

The appartment looked perfect for Ajas. He wondered if the goblins would move the bookshelves from his vault to his appartment – it does lack in furnishing. He'll ask for it tomorrow.

Ajas felt the witch worrying due to his lack of reactions ; she was afraid that he would decline. So he turned to her and said

"I'll take it. Now" He announced in a sharp voice. Linda squealed and hugged the mysterious man, joy overflowing her; she was almost getting desperate. Ajas felt it and chuckled lightly, still refusing to reveal his face. He'll do once he worked the glamour charms out. Linda ran out of the appartment before running in again, panting. She handed him the contract and Ajas surveilled the terms, before blood signing it.

"To which vault shall I make the transfer?" Ajas asked Linda, and the women answered excitedly

"Vault number 231, sir. By the way what is your full name?"

"I am Lord Mephysto...Ajas Mephysto. " The witch's eyes slightly widened ; she didn't expect a pureblood head of line buy this appartment but she didn't question any further. Ajas took out his Gringotts card and made the payment before processing to identify the wards that was set up. The appartment was heavily warded ; there was a possibility that the previous owner knew that he will get problems with the job he did. Anti Apparition wards, silencing ward…Now Ajas would need to set a new one ; a signature recognising ward. He heard of it but must learn how to do it ; it's a ward that would only let the owner or invited people enter.

"I'll be moving here by the afternoon. What is the floo address?" Ajas asked out. Linda replied :  
>"It's called Red Orchid Flat. Oh and there's also an access to the muggle world nearby. There's a brick wall at the left side of the building, you can just walk past it and you'll be in a a muggle cul-de-sac".<p>

Ajas thanked the veela and left the brothel, approaching the brick wall Linda spoke of. He walked through it, landing in front of several muggle trashcans. Ajas smiled ; this impass alley was right at the corner of Sherlock's Inn, making things more practical for him. He went up to his room in the inn, exchanging few words with Alistair. Ajas packed everything (which isn't much…) and was about to carry his trunk down the stairs when a thought surged in. Ajas gazed at the trunk, wondering ; could he cast something as simple as a featherlight spell wandlessly?

He pointed at the trunk, staring at it. He almost feel his eyes popping out due to concentration as he tried pulling out the energy from his body and pulling it to his finger, just like he would do with a wand. Ajas almost shrieked of joy when a blue halo envelopped the trunk, rendering it featherlight. He was overjoyed, discovering that he was part of that small percentage of natural wandless practionners, something that even Dumbledore or Voldemort aren't. He went downstairs and paid with his gringotts card, earlier than expected, before leaving the inn. He felt his stomach rumbling and stopped at a nearby fish and chips stand, buying some. Then he walked through the brick wall, finding himself in the wizarding world again.

He glanced around, content ; he will be living in his world from now on. He carried the trunk through the brothel, bumping into prostitutes now and then before reaching for his flat. Suddenly, a petite asian called him out

"Hey! I heard you're the new owner of the appartment! "

Ajas turned around to face the girl, feeling a light blush tinging his cheeks. The girl for once did not seem to be intimidated by his clothing – his face was hooded and he did look like a dementor. He scrutinized the girl ; she was shorter than him, but slender. Her long black hair fell on her back like an ebony cascade and she looked at him happily with her beautiful large slanted eyes. Ajas did realise last year that he had something for asian girls and this one was probably the most beautiful girl he'd ever seen even if she was no veela.

"You heard right" Ajas tried keeping his voice neutral, extending his hand. " I'm Ajas. Ajas Mephysto"

The girl smiled briliantly at him before shaking his hand. "I'm Mai". Ajas could discern a lovely east asian accent so he inquired

"Where are you from, lovely Mai?"

The girl blushed before answering " I'm originally from Vietnam…and oh! I can help you settle down! " She continued, seeing that Ajas was pulling his trunk around. Ajas refused politely

"Well if you need any help, just call me! I'm the one charged with household chores and I'm right next door."

"Oh…so you don't do the…" Ajas was interrupted as the girl bursted out in giggles

"No no no! I'm not of age yet and if I was, I'd remain a maid" She said. Ajas wanted to continue the conversation with Mai when someone called her.

"Ok I gotta go, it was nice meeting you! Bye!" She winked, running off. _A very pretty girl indeed…_Ajas thought, as he sat on the couch. Suddenly a barn owl flied in , droping a Gringott's letter on Ajas's lap._ Surely the result of the inheritance test_, Ajas thought as he began reading the parchment.

And he almost fainted.

**A.N : **Ok ok I took the idea of Harry/Ajas staying in a brothel from fic _Out of the night_ by Raining Ink. I just found it really fun – no one would expect to find the Golden Boy in a brothel now, would they? And yeah I know I know…cliffie :p


	7. Chapter 7

**:**parseltongue:

"_Dementor tongue"_

**Last chapter's ending**

_Ajas thought, as he sat on the couch. Suddenly a barn owl flied in , droping a Gringott's letter on Ajas's lap. Surely the result of the inheritance test, Ajas thought as he began reading the parchment._

_And he almost fainted._

**Chapter 7**

_Inheritance Blood Test __ By Gringotts._

_Executive : Goblin Thrallok_

_Subject : Ajas Terror Mephysto-Voldemort __**born**__ Harry James Potter_

_Son of :_

_-Lily Amelia Evans (muggle born)_

_-Salazar Tom Voldemort__** born**__ Tom Marvolo Riddle, Lord of Voldemort of merged lines Slytherin, Peverell, Randiniel and Gaunt _

_Lord of : Mephysto of merged lines Black and Potter_

_Heir to : Voldemort of merged lines Slytherin,Peverell, Randiniel and Gaunt _

To say that Ajas almost had a heart attack was the understatement of the year. He couldn't move…It was only after long moments that he realised he had stopped breathing, and started again with a cough.

"No…." Ajas said, but not loudly ; he couldn't breath out the word "This can't be…". Ajas closed his eyes..how could this be possible? It can't be! _Please tell me it had been a mistake…please tell me this is not true…_He froze for a while, unable to think any further and he let himself fall ungraciously on the couch. He didn't know what to do with this, he didn't know anything. It was like his world entirely went to dust within a second._ There has to be a mistake…_But then again, Blood do not lie. He bent his head and wrapped his arms around it, rocking back and forth. Tears streaming down his cheeks…Had Voldemort known this all along? Or was it just one night stand? …_But it would mean that my mother cheated on my father, sleeping with the man who would become her murderer…Did she know it was him? Did he played a trick on her? Did HE know that I am his son? _Or was his mother raped? Ajas hoped for his psyche that the latter was true. He closed his eyes, thousands of questions rageing in his mind, thousands of emotions running through his veins. Anger….fear…deceit…confusion….and maybe a tidbit of hope. He hoped that his mother didn't cheated on his father willingly…yes, no matter what, James died for me…But he also hoped that Voldemort did not knew that he was his son. Nothing is more terrible than to learn that your own blood father tried knowingly murder you when you were a baby… He grasped the letter, trying to tear it into shreds but even with all the strenght he poured in it, the paper resisted. _Blasted Gringotts documents…_And he sat there for hours, depression overwhelming his tormentor soul.

For the next few weeks he absolutely refused to think of it, and sulked into a semi depressive state. Studying like there was no tomorrow…studying day and night, almost ignoring his body's basic needs. He only went out of his appartment once, to get to Gringotts, demanding the Goblins to move the bookshelves from his vault to his flat. And so the empty study room was turned into a library, and bookshelves filled the living room too. He studied like mad, learning, absorbing all knowledge. It was his way of running from these thoughts, from this knowledge. He poured all his energy in the study of magic. He ate once a day, ordering food from the nextdoor pub ( they had a food floo delivery service). Within these week of nonstop work he learned the basics of runic magic combined with blood magic, as well as he studied duelling and brewed his own stock – blood resplenishing, minor healing potion, dreamless sleep, pain relieving potions… He improved a lot in many different domains, especially the ones requiring higher raw magic concentration. He could do all duelling spells he knew wandlessly ; it did not differ from using a wand and his spells were even more powerful. Sometimes he would receive letters from Ron, Hermione and order members, even one from Dumbledore. He refused opening Dumbledore's letter, feeling a tracking spell from it – _old codger_,he thought darkly. He ignored the letters, only once replying that he was safe, and that they shouldn't try to find him.

He studied dark material, and he knew it. But he did not care – he learned offensive dark spells, potions. Everything would be useful , anything would be needed in combat. In fact, he did not care for anything – he felt hollow. Like a machine whose task is to study, but it helped him to forget the troubelsome fact he discovered 3 weeks prior. The only company he ever had during those weeks was his snake pendant – Balthazar. The old snake was very knowledgeable, especially in dark magic and did not mind sharing his experiences with Ajas. The snake was indeed a very curious object – a scentient one. Ajas knew he was no simple bewitched object ; he had a conscience on his own, feelings and thoughts. The snake would sometimes tell him about different tales and legends from the wizarding world, such as the tale of the three brothers. It was Ajas's favorite and wondered if he was heir to the Peverell line, considering that Voldemort himself descended from them. Having Balthazar around was like having an old (dark) mentor and protector teaching him.

July came to a near end. Ajas felt that his body couldn't cope with this rhythm anymore and Balthazar threatened to bite his head off if he did not pay more attention to his health. So ,reluctantly, he tried scheduling ; 5hours of sleep from 1 to 6, 3 meals a day (6.30-7, 11.30-12.30 and 6.30-7 in the evening). Theorical studies in the morning, practical in the afternoon and research in the evening. He should also look for a duelling club in the area, duelling against a dummy is getting boring.

Ajas sat on the couch, sighing. His body felt almost energy less: he needed some rest, so he tried not to think or do anything. Suddenly the thoughts of his parentage assaulted him – _So much for not trying to think about anything….-_ but for once, his thoughts were much more clear and logical after some time. He knew that he must somewhat find out the truth…

_Dear Voldemort…was my mom willing to snog you? Do you know that I'm your kid and that probably dumble's your grandpa? _Ajas inwardly snickered

And now that he remembers it, there's a problem with the prophecy. _Born to those who had thrice defied him…_"Those"…Plural. Means that both his parents should have thrice defied Voldemort. But his own father IS Voldemort – _Does this makes any sense? _

Therefore, according to him, there's only 3 possibilities: The prophecy wasn't meant for him, Trelawney's a real fraud or Dumbledore made it up. And he sincerely hoped that Dumbledore didn't do this, for the old headmaster's own sake. But Ajas knew that Trelawney was no fraud – hell, the prophecy she made when he was in third year… And he was rather sure that the prophecy was destined to him considering that Voldemort _marked him as his equal_. Bloody lightening bolt shaped scar.

The prophecy must had been modified…or Dumbledore faked it. Ajas didn't have any idea - the old

codger was manipulative but not evil. Well, he hoped so therefore he must find out the truth behind this.

_Just fucking show up at Riddle Manor already, get to the throne room and say sup snakey in the Dark Lord's face ha…ha…ha…_As crazy as it sounded, he knew he must confront Voldemort about it one day. Another detail had been ticking him – if he was truly Voldemort's kid, why did he look like a replica of James Potter? Such a mystery. So he went on with his meditation, trying to calm his thoughts down and not to think ill of Dumbledore. At least until he finds out the truth.

He thought for another while, shuffling through his past memories when his mind froze on the book he found in the Potter's vault:

_Glamours, bloodline glamours and how to hide your escapade's result_. He took it up and read it again, read again the part about a charm a mother set on her love child and that can only be undone by the latter. "_Your son or daughter would be spitting image of your husband , but you can keep minor physical details from you. It can only be undone by your child himself"_

The book had been purposely set apart and Ajas knew it. So he stood in front of the mirror, murmuring

"Verus Vultus". As he felt the magic embalming him, he refused to look into the mirror for a while, afraid to see the result. And then he felt it…like a cold shower cleaning him from the glamour spell his mother casted. After some time, he opened his eyes…and almost shrieked in horror.

He had the exact face and bone structure than Tom Riddle. The same eye shape, the same nose, the same cheekbones, the same hair, the same lip shapes. But that wasn't the cause of the horrified feeling he had.

He did not looked human. His skin was chalk pale, some black veins could be seen at his temples. His cheeks were hollow, overshadowed by his high cheekbones. His lips were ashy gray in the center, and the gray faded in the chalk white color. But the most terrifying things were his eyes…

Black sclera. No irises, no eye white. Completely black eyes as if he had no eyeballs at all. Now he understood what the dementor meant

_I wasn't supposed to look human anymore…_

:Well well, that is interesting indeed: Balthazar hissed gently :If you want my opinion, it's an improvement: he chuckled (if snakes could chuckle ), earning a glare from Ajas.

:This, this is just wrong: Ajas whispered. He still felt like a Potter, he wanted to look like one! It was the only thing left he had from his parents. He did not care if James was or not his biological father ; the man died protecting him.

:It is time to put the past behind you, child : Balthazar said, moving up Ajas's arm. :You had never been a real Potter, whether you wanted it or not. I remembered that you once told me "The old hat wanted to put me in Slytherin". You are a slytherin , child. Accept this truth ; to be powerful is not to be blind. If you want my opinion, looking like this might have some usefulness – no one would dare approaching you:

:Honestly , Balthazar, I don't really want to hang around looking like this: Ajas protested

:Well then, you can always cast a blood magick glamour charm, giving you a double appearance: the snake answered. When he saw Ajas's questionning glance, he continued : In fact, there's this way. You chose what to hide, and then draw specific runes on those areas. You can then revert to your original appearance or take up your false appearance at will:

Ajas stared at his reflection, pensively, before taking a silver knife and cutting himself, pouring his blood in a phial. He told Balthazar which parts he wanted to modify, and the snake guided Ajas's blood runes tracing. He drew on each eyelids, on his lips, each of his nails and on his forehead. He waited for the magic to absorb, before staring at his reflection again.

He looked human. A carbon copy of Tom Riddle, just that his eyes were green. His skin was now less pale, his lips slightly pink and his nails normal. Ajas was glad with the result ; at least now no one would point him as Harry Potter. He did not need to conceal his face anymore

Meanwhile, at the other side of the country, white spidery fingers ripped open an envellope from his goblin spy.

And crimson eyes widened…..

**A.N :** Thank you so much for all the reviews! And special thanks to CorvisNoirre for pointing out the mistakes. Would you like to become my beta reader?

Once again, please review. Feel free to point out any flows, plotholes and mistakes. Kisses


	8. Chapter 8

**A.N :** I'd like to thank you all for your lovely reviews ^^

**-Lalaland : ** You're going to be the death of me some of these days! :D

-**Shinohina4eva :** Thank you and it's really nice to have your support :D Please feel free to point out any flaws or mistakes. Thx a lot

**Chapter 8:**

Ajas was sitting in his study, his brows furrowing as he tried to decipher the different dark magics he read about in the first tome of Magick Moste Evile, written by an old eccentric dark wizard from the middle ages, Godelot. It was strange for him as he found it mentionning the elder wand ; this story might not be as legendary as it sounded. Ajas rubbed his temples with his thumb – reading such dark contents did disturb his mind. But he needed to know as much as he could. In fact, the book mostly spoke of different dark torture curses, some of them rather gruesome. Now that he thought about it, the book was among the shelves of the Potter vault. _Seems like they ain't all light wizards…_

:I don't know why you are spending time on this book, child. It is pretty useless, and it only evasively mentions the most interesting thing…: Balthazar hissed in Ajas's ears. Ajas groaned, closing the book and dropping it in the shelves. He went through his stack of notes again – dark curses and their counter curses, dark potions and antidotes… He snickered – there's at least few thousands way to kill a man with magic, sometimes a simple light spell could do it. Heck, he could even kill someone with wingardium leviosa. Ajas couldn't see the boundaries between light and dark curses ; the only thing necessary was bits of macabre imagination.

:It all comes down to the intention of the caster: Ajas whispered and the silver snake nodded. Ajas stood up, walking around the flat ; he had been sitting all day, studying. His legs needed some exercise. He stopped next to his trunk, where he felt the familiar hum of dark magic emanating from it. But it had been different, since the last few days. Ajas hadn't bothered to check the locket since he took it out of Gringotts and so he thought it was about time. He opened his trunk and reached out for it, holding it with his bare hands. He felt it, he felt it's magic pulsing through him like a soft lullaby. It was as if the locket had a conscience on it's own – and it's intentions were almost benevolant towards Ajas. He opened it, sniffing slightly before jerking away as if an electric current went through his body.

:Merlin's dick be damned! There's a piece of soul in this!: He slipped in parseltongue.

:Boy, you have the tongue of a sailor!: Balthazar hissed, sarcasm dripping through his tone :But Merlin ended up eunuch anyways:

:yeah like…WHAT?: Ajas gaped at the silver snake :Merlin was an eunuch? I thought he was in love with Viviane the lady of the lake!:

:He was in love with his sister. Yes yes, Viviane was his sister. That's how he ended up eunuch: Balthazar chuckled

:How come I never heard of it in History of Magic classes?:

:Did you even bother to listen, snake child?: Balthazar poked Ajas's cheek with his tail. Ajas picked the locket up again, feeling slight…rumbling from it. It was as if the piece of soul in it was snickering.

:How very strange indeed: Balthazar mused :How very…familiar. You should keep it on you, child. I feel that this locket has your best intentions at heart:. Ajas wore it around his neck, quite reluctantly

:If you say so, old snake. What ever artifact this is, there's a piece of human soul in it:

The snake chose to remain silent as Ajas went back to his study, reading and memorizing a list of potion ingredients and their interactions. It made potions much more understandable – the only thing Snape ever did was writing the recipe on the black board and asking them to brew dumbly. Now Ajas understood how ingredients works, their effects, their effects when combined with others and the ones nullifying them.

A soft knock was heard and Ajas's head snapped up. He cautiously opened the entrance door, discovering Mai standing behind it. She looked at him for a while, blushing slightly.

_What on earth…Oh _– He realised. It was the first time she ever saw him without his hood. _Maybe she thinks I'm handsome….God, when did I become THAT vain?_

"Oh, uhm Hello Ajas. I didn't see you for a while so I thought I'd just check on you…you know" She muttered rapidly, her cheeks having a lovely shade of pink.

"Thanks Mai, everything's fine. Don't worry, I've just been doing researches about magic a lot. Please come in" He held the door, beckoning her to enter. She walked in, a silver colored platter floating behind her.

"I thought I'd just make some tea and some traditional vietnamese sweets. If you don't mind…" she said, shyly.

"That's very thoughtful of you, dear" Ajas winked before setting the platter on the table with a wave of his hand. Mai looked around, staring at the multiple tall bookshelves surrounding her.

"This place surely had changed since you moved in. You made a library out of it…" She paused, holding the teapot and manually serving him tea. "It's lotus tea, something from my country. And these are green beans pastries. We don't have tea and cookies" she smiled. They sat there, sipping their tea in an awkward silence. Ajas really didn't have that much experiences with girls….

:Nice catch, oh Lord Mephysto!: Balthazar hissed teasingly.

:Thank you…: The girl hissed out, flushed. Ajas gaped at her, flabbergasted.

:You're…you're a parseltongue? You don't descend from Slytherin, do you?:

:Yes, I can speak the snake tongue…and you know, Slytherin wasn't the only parseltongue on this world:

Ajas mentally facepalmed himself for being such an ignorant idiot at times, before reverting to english

"So, how did you become one? Or were you born with this ability?"

"I am a born parseltongue. My great grandmother was a Naga Witch. Nagas are half human half serpents, considered as a deitie among the snakes…" She explained, seeing Ajas's questionning look.

"So you're like, almost royalty?" Ajas spoked out, jokingly. Mai blushed again

"Well you can say so…but I'm an illegitimate child so it doesn't really count…You see, my mother is a muggle. She was really poor, and fell in love with my father. But my father just…used of her body" Mai looked down, trying to conceal the sadness emanating from her eyes. Seeing this, Ajas putted a comforting hand on her shoulders.

"And so, she became pregnant" Mai continued. "And gave birth to me. She wanted to afford for me a magical education – you see, in Asia it isn't like here. Muggles know about the existance of wizards and witches. But she didn't have the money to so I mostly learned on my own. Hoping that one day I'd be able to intergrate the vietnamese wizarding community. One day, an english man came, full of promises. He promised me that he would teach me for free, as long as I followed him. And I agreed blindly, before my mother could've prevented me from it. So he brought me here, wanting me to work for him but the other girls protected me because I wasn't of age. And I guess they pitied me…When I left, my mother killed herself. I feel guilty for it…And I don't know why. I've probably bored you to death with my tale..I'm sorry" Mai weeped silently. Ajas could feel the distress from her soul – he had so much in common with her, so he held a protective arm around her waist as she cried on his shoulders. The girl had held this up in her heart for way too long and relieved it to him, a stranger who had just been remotely nice and polite to her. Ajas couldn't help but pity Mai, compassion spreading through him. Realisation drawn on him – human trafficking did exist in the wizarding world too.

"Do not worry, dear Mai. You have suffered throughout your life , I can sense it. You needed to relieve your heart, and I am glad that you did. But heed my warning – do not trust such things to strangers, as the wicked ones might use it against you…Pray tell, and sorry if it sounds rude, but how old are you?" Ajas whispered, looking at that absolutely beautiful girl crying. Her sadness did not appeal to him,her heart being innocent. Ajas discovered that fact recently – he only wanted to consume guilty souls, because they smelled breathtakingly delicious.

"I'm 15, since April…" She murmured, between sobs.

_Me and crying asians. Is this becoming some sort of wicked fashion?_

"I'm soon to be 16…in 2 days" He told her and she looked at him, astonishment coming from her puffy red eyes.

"You're wise beyond your years, Ajas" She commented, letting a smile appear on her lips. Ajas was drawn to these… he just wanted to bend his head toward hers and kiss her. He pushed the thoughts aside, trying to ignore the intimacy they shared at the very moment.

"I've lived a harsh life too. I am orphan, and was raised by magic hating muggles. They starved me and tried to beat the magic out of me when I was a child. Earlier this year, a man I held dear in my heart died because of my own foolishness. I guess we are similar in ways…". Mai gasped at the revelation, letting a tear roll on her cheeks. Ajas knew it, it was no longer a tear of her own sadness, but a tear of compassion. Since he became a tormentor, he turned up into some sort of empath. Dementors do taste other people's feelings.

They sat there in silence, appreciating each other's warmth and comfort. Ajas sipped his tea tranquily, forgetting the sad thoughts as he saw Mai smiling at him.

"So, do you have any free time, tomorrow?" He decided to ask, hesitantly after a long moment. She looked up to him, her eyes shiny

"Oh yes, I can do whatever I want once the household chores are done and the food is cooked…" She answered, expectantly. Ajas didn't really what it would all come to, but it was worth a try so he decided himself

"Well, mind to hang around with me tomorrow afternoon? "

Mai blushed at the question – it was the first time someone actually asked her for a date in a gentlemanly way. She nodded, unsure how to respond for a while

"Well…uhm…ofcourse! It would be really nice!" She smiled gueninely "But well I don't know why someone like you would want to hang around with me…I'm not exactly talented nor am I clever…"

Ajas smirked, cocking an eyebrow at the shy asian in his arms.

"Tut tut…you just had never been offered proper education before, that's all. I can sense a very powerful magical core within you. I'll start looking for someone to teach you, if you want."

Mai's eyes widened before she hastingly thanked him. "You're so kind to me…why?"

"Because I can sense your soul" Ajas answered, after a long moment. Confusion filled the girl's eyes so Ajas decided to elaborate :

"Mai, I'm not exactly, at least not fully human. I am not harmful either…I'm what some would call a tormentor. I can sense people's hearts, fears, guilty feelings and sins. I can taste their thoughts. The reason why I am willing to help you is because I can feel potential in you, and such abilities should NOT go to waste. I am sorry if I can't teach you myself – I haven't accomplished my own education yet. But I'm ready to help you when necessary"

Ajas never knew why he decided to do so. It's just that he could see the magical aura the girl had yet she looked so helpless.

"I…thank you, Ajas." She flashed a grin, revealing her perfect teeth. _She is so fucking hot…. _Ajas thought, staring at her.

"I wondered if you would come down to dinner for once, with the girls. You know, they are really nice and they never saw you around so they got pretty curious. They are like sisters to me…and they kinda know lots of things too, all the things happening they are pretty prone to gossip and it can really get nasty at times"

Ajas didn't mind having dinner with humans after three weeks, so he accepted.

:Will there be any female snakeesssss?: Balthazar hissed from Ajas's wrists. Ajas looked at him, astonished

:You understand english!: He grasped out

:Ofcourse I do, what do you think I am? An idiotic basilisk?: The snake coughed out, offensed. Mai stared at Balthazar, before asking :

:How were you created, Balthazar?: She whispered out. Now that Ajas thought about it, he never eventually bothered to ask Balthazar about it.

:Hmmm, do you know how magical portraits works? Well it's rather simple. Herpo...which was my name…took out his memory, creating a replica of his mind essence and imposed it on the silver snake poisonous pendant I was. Ofcourse, the magic he…or I…used is of a higher degree then the ones you use to create magical portrait. I'm in fact a memory of Herpo in an animated object. I want to bless myself at times for not ending up snoring in a frame: Balthazar explained.

Mai discreetly checked the time, before announcing : "I'm afraid I must go cook dinner, Ajas. It was a real pleasure to speak with you" She smiled softly before magically picking up the tea platter. She waved at him before leaving his flat.

:Well that was surely interesting. I'd be glad if you mated with her some of these days – parseltongues are getting rare: Balthazar hissed softly, chuckling as he saw Ajas blush furiously.

:When did I ever speak of doing such…things with her?:

:I can feel the heat coming out from you, Ajas. Even if you may not love her, you lust for her…:

Ajas rolled his eyes, before replying

:You're going to be the death of me, Balthazar. I swear:

Ajas sat for a while in silence, studying the golden locket he had around his neck. Trying to ponder about it's nature, asking Balthazar about it. But the snake somehow managed to escape from the subject, saying that he will tell Ajas when the time comes.

**A.N :** K k I know this chapter is NOT super interesting. But well I thought it's kinda nice for Harry/Ajas to have female company at times. What do you think about this pairing? Should it end up romantically or just friendship with sex?


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9:**

**A.N:** Ok so it's decided – it's goin to be close friendship with some sex, no real romance. And no I don't intend to make Harry/Ajas find his soulmate, because I'm not good at these romantic craps and it will prolly end up waaaay toooo cheesy. Hope you like this chapter and sorry for the delay

As promised, Ajas went downstairs for dinner accompanied by Mai. She was already waiting for him at his doorsteps while he finished studying, her fingers dancing on the wall. When they reached the first floor, Ajas still wore his signature dementor cloak, rendering his face invisible. The first person to greet them was Linda, the blonde veela, sitting on the bar with a careless demeanor.

"Who's your friend, Mai?" She asked, before clasping her mouth. "Oh my! I'm sorry, I didn't recognise you Lord Mephysto"

"I convinced him to come for dinner" Mai spoke out, grinning. "Come on, have a seat!" She motionned towards a group of rectangular tables assembled together just for dinner. Most of the chairs were occupied by the prostitutes, speaking and laughing about diverse topics. Food already filled the plates and butterbeer flowed out from the barrels like waterfalls. Ajas's presence brought an end to the merry conversations as the witches looked at him ,expectantly. He could feel the slight quiver coming from some.

"This is Ajas Mephysto, you know, the owner of the appartment" Mai broke the silence with her jovial voice. Some of them still glanced uneasily at each other when a brunette in tight fitting dress decided to intervene:

"You've been here for three weeks, why don't you ever come down here?"

"Well let's say that I spent my time studying" Ajas answered, deciding to serve himself some beer.

"Mai convinced you to come for dinner?" another witch asked, winking at the blushing vietnamese.

"Yes, she's such a lovely girl, I couldn't resist" Ajas teased, making the prostitutes giggle. The mood lightened up as they all resumed their activities.

"Oh, I didn't introduce you to my sisters yet" Mai said, before continueing "This is Tanya", she pointed at the black haired women Ajas first met, "Olga, Natalya. They are from Ukraine. This is Maya, Lendie, Martha, Olive, Jen, Marie, Ophalie, Valeria, Valentine, Johnie, Alexandra, Helga, France, Liu Wen Qi…" She went on with the listing, pointing out at each of them. Ajas nodded in aknowledgement, trying to remember the names.

"So, whatchya studyin'?" asked the one named Martha.

"Bits of everything" Ajas told, making the witch quirk a questionning eyebrow at him. He sent a grateful glance at Mai when she poured some beef sauce to his plate.

"Why don't you take that hoodie off? Surely it ain't comfortable for eatin'" suggested one of the prostitutes. Ajas mhmed for a while and hesitantly pulled his hood up. The witches looked at him, their eyes round like saucers before bursting out in cackles, making Ajas and Mai share embarrassed stares.

"I wish most of my customers would look like you….I'd gladly give out a 60% discount!" Olga sighted.

"Getting tired of wrinkled cocks?" another girl spurted out, giggling.

"Now now" Linda tsked "Stop annoying the lovebirds", she said while slightly elbowing Mai, making the poor girl blush furiously.

_Such a lovely little blushing maiden!_

They continued to eat, joyfully bantering each other when dinner was interupted by a prostitute and a man entering the main room. Ajas grunted, recognising Nott. The man sat at the counter, pulling out his pouch and dropping some galleons in his escort's hand. He then left the brothel without a word, trying to look insconspicuous.

:Some other death eater activities: Ajas discreetly hissed in parseltongue, earning a chuckle from Balthazar. The auburn haired prostitute joined them at the table.

"How was it?" Ophalie asked. The newcommer shrugged, before declaring :

"Ugh…fucking lots of stamina BUUUUT a fucking tiny dick" she added, seemingly disgusted. That statement made Ajas stifle a laughter…He should really pull that on the man's face next time he fights him in a duel.

"Needed some tweezers to pick it up?" Martha asked, giggling loudly. The dinner continued on the same joyous tone where nasty jokes were included. Ajas picked up some useful informations ; they really knew what was happening all around.

_Better than reading the daily prophet._

He overheard a conversation about duelling clubs and decided to interfere

"There's one in Diagon Alley, but it's really restricted; limited to light magic. There's another one, but I can't tell more. It's under the fidelius charm so I gotta ask the secret keeper if you wanna join. Mai can do it for you too, she's got access" Linda explained

"So, you're a duelist?" Ajas questionned, surprise being visible on his features.

"Nah, some of us girls just go there and cheer"

When the meal was over, the prostitutes reopened the brothel and a wave of customers rushed in. Ajas chose to sit there for a while, observing his surroundings, sometimes stealing a glance at the dbeautiful poll dancers. He picked up some drunken conversations when one spiked his interest. He remained in the shadows, listening to the group of man at the far left corner.

"Heard tha old Fandwick got the fear of his life. There was this lad coupla weeks ago, dressed like a dementor. But he didn't look like one, I'm bettin on ma life; He had limbs and walked normally like all othas, but bein' nearby was exactly like havin a dementor humpin ya'" One of them whispered

Ajas snickered before standing up, his eyes shuffling around looking for Mai. When he didn't find her, he headed to the kitchens. He saw her standing in front of the sink, magically dealing with the dirty dishes. He softly squeezed her shoulder and she turned around, her lips sporting her everlasting smile

"You think you can bring me to the secret keeper of that duelling club?"

"Yes, ofcourse. But I must finish cleaning up first…"She replied timidly, waving her wand around making the plates wash themselves. Ajas set up some other cleaning spells he learned with the Weasley matriarch. Mai's eyes widened at the display of wandless magic but she didn't comment any further.

After the cups set themselves in the cupboard, Mai wore a red cloak before beckoning Ajas to follow her. They went out and she walked swiftly down to Knockturn Alley. It was dimly lit, the street lamps casting creepy shadows on the street. It seemed like Mai does not venture around after dawn and Akas felt her fear. Some hooded silhouettes lurked at them, whispering to each other. Ajas could sense their malevolan intentions ; he pierced them with his gaxe, making them shiver and back off immediately. Mai noticed his actions and slowed her pace

"What did you do to them?" She asked, warrily

"Just some of my…abilities" He smirked, following her. She halted in front of the old Borgin&Burke insignia, knocking on the door. The shop looked like usual ; depraved and dusty.

"Mr Borgin sir?" She called out. The door creeked out, displaying an old oily haired man Ajas recognised as Borgin. The man glared at her distastefully before inquiring

"What do you want, girl?"

"Lord Mephysto here is a potential guest…" She whispered as Ajas left his hand trailing on the wall, showing his signet ring. The man observed them suspiciously before stepping aside, letting them walk past. He then turned around

"2 galleons for 4 hours. Or 70 galleons for unlimited access for a month"

Ajas pulled out his gringott's card, making the man's eyes lit up like a christmas tree. He transferred the money and the man declared:

"Repeat after me ; Elven Gates Duelling Club". Ajas did so and a wooden trapdoor appeared on the floor. Borgin opened it, letting Mai and Ajas climb down. They found themselves in a narrow stone tunnel with bare walls. Benches were disposed all along, where numerous cloaked man and women sat, some of them attending their injuries.

"Rules are simple ; no AK. We got healers to attend severe injuries. There's 4 categories of duellists and each categories got 2 duelling grounds. 3rd class, 2nd class, 1st class and Masters. Everyone starts of with 3rd class, but don't think it's easy. Up to you to prove yourself" The man trailed.

There were dark wooden doors on the side of the corridor. Ajas and Mai entered the one with the insignia 3rd class A, discovering a large circular room with seats placed all around, like an arena. It was filled with a whistling, lousy crowd, cat calling at the duellers ; There were at least 6 duelling platforms, each of them protected by a golden bulb. Spells flashed all around, none of them hitting the spectators, illuminating the place with blinding multicolored light. Screams echoed…Ajas liked the place. All the surges of feelings, the jolt of the masses…And he felt carried away by blissfulness. Such violent emotions around him, it tickled his senses and skin. His awareness of the surrounding exponentially grew and he tried coping with his internal excitement. He wanted all the souls…

An amplified voice knocked him out of his thoughts.

"Victor of 1st Platform, Mr Cardinson!". Clappings were heard and Ajas sat his eyes on the winning tall muscular mass. The man looked like a typical brute, made only of raw force. His jaws were clenched and he stared at everyone , disdainfully.

_Arrogant….I'll make you swallow your own pride_

"Who wants to challenge?" The commentator spoke out. Ajas jumped out of the seats, joining the 1st platform.

"Ah! There's a new opponent! Your name? And please take off all magical artifacts on you, except your wand ofcourse." The short blonde man inquired, handing Ajas the amplificator

"Ajas Mephysto" He spoke, before trespassing the boundaries of the golden orb. His brute of an opponent collided his fists together, sneering at Ajas.

"Think a little weakling like ya can win this?" He spat out.

"Precissssely" Ajas hissed out. He wondered if he should use his dementor abilities at all, but he decided against it. Not until he reached the 1st class arenas…

"Wands out, gentleman" the barritone amplified voice announced. Cardinson pulled out his wand and positionned himself, his knees slightly fletching.

"What? Don't have a wand? Don't know how to use one?" The man taunted, a predatory glint appearing in his eyes. Ajas remained in the same static position ;

"I don't need no wand" He spoke out, his voice trenching like the edge of a frozen knife. His opponent smiled smuggly before bending himself in a mock bow.

"May the duel begin" the jury decided.

The man, Cardinson, did not wait as he latched out dozens of spells. The lights whirled in all directions but Ajas dodged them all successfully, with a grace he did not knew about. He observed his enemy – the man was all raw force as well as in his spell casting. He did not plan out his moves and so Ajas decided to use an offensive tactic.

"Petrificus Totalus!" He muttered. Surprise crossed the man's features as he noticed the strong petrifying wandless hex and he countered it with a shield. The duel went on for several minutes ; Cardinson's face was crimson as he tried to hold on, sweat pearling while Ajas remained calm.

"Crucio!" The angry man cried out but Ajas was swift enough to avoid the spell. _Playing with dark material now, are we?_

"Conicio Postulo!" Ajas hexed with a wave of his hand, and hundreds of needles flought through the air, reaching the target. Cardinson eye's widened as he collapsed, crying of pain. The healer immediately reached the ground as Ajas was declared victor by the jury.

"You earned 0.75 golden point" The sand haired man said.

"How's the grading system?" Ajas asked and as an answer he received a flyer

**Duelling grade system –**

**-Victory :**

**1 full point earned if duel lasts 0-5 minutes**

**0.75 point earned if duel lasts 5-15 minutes**

**0.5 point earned if duel lasts over 15 minutes**

**-Defeat:**

**1 full point lost if duel lasts 0-5 minutes**

**0.75 point lost if duel lasts 5-15 minutes**

**0.5 point earned if duel lasts over 15 minutes**

_**3 types of points :**_

**Golden point : when victorious over an opponent who won 75% of his duels**

**Silver point : When victorious over an opponent who won 50% of his duels**

**Normal point.**

_**3 types of duellers**_

_**-**_**Golden dueller : when wins 75% of his duels**

**-Silver dueller : when wins over 50% of his duels**

**-Normal dueller : neither golden or silver.**

_**Conditions to access another class ;**_

_**-**_**The appliant can be a golden dueller with at least 12 golden points**

**-The appliant can be a silver dueller with at least 4 golden points and 13 silver points**

Ajas memorised the flyer's content ; it was in fact a fair and complicated grading system. He duelled some more after a break, earning himself 1.75 golden point and 2 silver points. He was glad of his performance – he had not lost yet. But then again, this is a 3rd class arena and Ajas was skillfull in DADA so it was expected. And surely his month of constant training did count for something and Ajas decided he should come to the duelling club everyday to improve his performances. He also felt a change in the spectators's general opinion about him ; they no longer considered him as a mere child because of his wandless magic. Some of them were flabbergasted and others found him eerie. Ajas took his magical devices back, including Balthazar. The snake hissed out his appreciating opinion as he coiled himself around Ajas's neck

He spotted Mai staring at him and she seemed impressed. She expressed it, giving him a hug and a peck on his cheeks and they walked back to the brothel.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10:**

**A.N : **Sorry for the late update. Thanks for the comments. Some of you noted that there's not enough action or the fic is too cute or wtv. I promise it's going to get more active from now and a bit more dark.

Ajas was sleeping, but it was nowhere near calm. He thrashed around violently, his entire body spasming. The sheets wrapped his body like chains, holding him like a warm yet eerie cocoon. Whimpers were heard…

And he heard them, the screams, all over again ; he saw himself standing on a cliff. The screams echoed like a soft wind caressing him. He was enthralled by them, he wanted to have them, to join them! He looked down, seeing a sea of dead souls. They raised their hands at him, trying to lure him to jump and Ajas couldn't resist the song of the souls. He wanted to have them, he wanted to taste them ; his feet reached the borderline when he attempted to plunge head first, piercing the ethereal darkness. But something grabbed his arm, pulling him back on the cliff. He looked at the tall shadow behind him ; ruby slit eyes, deadly pale skin holding him back to the physical world…

And he jerked awake in full alert, grunting. His muscles ached, his jaws were clenching and his fingers clawing the sheets. A thick layer of sweat covered his body as he breathed heavily. He waited for a while, his mind trying to clear out all the foggy thoughts when a warm feeling rooted at his chest spreaded through his veins. It felt comforting and slowly, each of his muscles relaxed as drowsiness took over him. He fell asleep once more, oblivious to the fact that the locket hanging at his neck was emanating a warm silvery glow.

The next morning he woke up, feeling as moody as ever when he noticed several owls waiting nearby the window. He recognised Pig and Errol, the Weasley owls ; they were all carrying heavy packages. Hedwig was back also, eyeing Balthazar suspiciously. Ajas stood up, groaning before remembering it was his birthday. He inspected all the packs he received, his left hand hovering above them making sure none contained tracking spells. Rage crossed his features as he felt his fingers vibrate when he scanned Ron's present. He expected Ms Weasley's pack to be bewitched but never would he thought that Ron would betray him like this. Yes, that's what he felt ; utmost betrayal. He already made it clear that he had no desire to be found yet his "friend" tried to trick him. Yes, he knew that Ron wanted what was best for him, but he couldn't help feeling outraged by his childhood's friend attitude. He casted counter spells on several packages ; Ms's Weasley yearly cake, Ron's chocolate frogs and magical creatures minature set, Dumbledore's letter.

He was honestly glad that Hermione, the Weasley twins and Charlie didn't take part of this conspiracy and so he unwrapped the presents unsuspiciously. Hermione sent him _The Book of Scandinavian Runes_, _Of Blood and Magic_ which were surprisingly, mildly dark books. Ajas remembered that he mentionned in his previous letters to Hermione about his studies and she seemed to fully support his project (although he skipped several parts concerning him studying the darkest arts ). She was a true friend ; maybe he should meet her within the next month. The twins sent him some dungbombs, instant darkness powder in small bags, a shielding coat and Charlie sent him dragon hide silencious boots. The presents were quite useful, Ajas thought, as he attached the small bags to his belt – _who knows when it might come is handy._ In their letters, the twins spoke about their new joke shop in Diagon Alley so Ajas thought he'd want to go there at times. He wasn't sure about how much he could tell Hermione ; maybe it was a trap set by the Order of the Phoenix. Maybe they did it on purpose so that he'd trust her more and be baited…he slammed the books on the desk and sat down, his thumbs pressed on his temples.

Angrily, he snapped the books open and started reading them even if his mind couldn't absorb anything. He tried to distract himself from his anger, learning further about runes when a raven entered his flat via the window. It carried an envelope – _most unusual, _Ajas mused as he ripped it open. A small obsidian ring fell out; a very simple band of obsidian yet very beautiful one. Balthazar approached, sniffing it and poking it with his tail.

:It is safe: he confirmed.

Ajas picked it up, rolling it between his fingers at eye level. It was then he discerned the written latin words "Hodie mihi, cras tibi".

:Today me, tomorrow you: Balthazar translated. Ajas frowned before unfolding the letter that came with it

_Happy birthday._

It was not signed, but the script was the most beautiful one Ajas's ever seen. The writing was regular, the loops were perfect and the capital letters extravangant. It was unusual and Ajas couldn't recognise it, so he decided he should drop the matter for now and wear the ring. He wrote a thank you note and gave it to the raven ;

"Please, give this to whomever sent you to me" He instructed. The raven cocked it's head,staring at him before taking it's flight. He then accio'd the cake and ate a part as breakfast before casting a preserving spell on it. He stood up and crossed the living room, opening one of his cupboards.

The knives from the black vault. It was time for him to start training with knives ; he had promised himself since the beginning of the summer but he forgot it after a while. Having knives and knowing how to precisely throw them is an important asset. And so he trained the whole morning, throwing the knives, spanning them all around and calling them back repeatedly. He managed to aim correctly when he stands still, but he missed his targets when he threw and moved. It was tricky and took a lot of concentration – Ajas swore to himself that he will master it by the end of the summer. Meanwhile Balthazar was singing something in parseltongue and Ajas suppressed the desire to slam a heavy book on the snake's head, cussing at it instead.

At noon he went to the muggle world, going through the end of the cul-de-sac. He had lunch at KFC and then bought a muggle cd player, some heavy metal music albums such as _**Tears don't Fall – Bullet for my Valentine, Vulgar Display of Power- Pantera, A Sense of Purpose – In flames, Reise Reise **_ and _** Liebe ist Fur Alle Da – Rammstein**_. He then spent half of his afternoon bewitching the cd player before giving in to some heavy headbanging session. He needed it, the music carried away his anger and frustration – it made him feel better.

Later in the afternoon, after talking with Mai about what she wanted to study (the girl didn't have any precise idea), Ajas decided to go out again, to Diagon Alley this time. He needed to purchase ingredients for his potions so he dropped by at the apothecary. He noticed the vivid colored façade of the Weasley Wizarding Wheezes joke shop and smiled ; it was the only joyful looking thing in the Alley lately. He walked for a while when an idea took life in his mind. He entered a rusty shop, through a shabby door that had written over it the golden letters "Ollivanders: Makers of Fine Wands since 382 B.C". A sound of a tinkling bell rang in the depths of the shop, announcing his arrival.

"Good Afternoon" Greeted the eerie voice of Ollivander. The man looked at Ajas, a strange flicker appearing in his liquid looking silvery eyes. "You never bought a wand here…"

"I never did" Ajas replied coolly.

"Yet, you look familiar. Very familiar….no. You're not him" The man spoke to himself, taking in once again the appearance of the young man standing in front of him. He looked stunning, no doubt in that, considering the stirring ntural beauty he posessed. A tall lithe frame and ivory skin, complimented by pure black and straight hair that seemed to drift down his emerald eyes. His greek nose completed the look with his high cheekbones, creating an angular face. All added to the feeling of gamiliarity he felt emanating from the boy… "Which is your wand arm?"

"I am not here for purchasing. I am a natural wandless" Ajas said, politely. "I am wondering if you take apprentices?"

The old man was classifying his stack of wands when he halted midtrack. "You are interested in the art of wandlore?"

"Not myself. I am asking for a friend – she is 15 and has experiences in oriental staff making. She seeks apprenticeship"

"I would like to see her first…" The man murmured. Ajas smiled dismissively before continueing

"You may know her. Her name's Mai and she possibly bought a wand here 3 years ago. Vietnamese girl"

Ollivander's eyes lit up, before offering Ajas a quivering grin. The sight was very strange because he was pretty sure Ollivander DOESN'T grin. "I remember. 11 inches, frangipani wood, unicorn's heartstring. It was an experiment wand – frangipani wood and unicorn's heartstring is not conventional in wandlore. I feel she will have talent in the art of wandmaking…Tell her to write to me this evening and set up a schedule. I am interested in teaching her"

"How much would it all cost?" Ajas questionned

"25 galleons per month for the first 6 months. If she is talented and passionate, then after the 6th month trial the apprenticeship will be free" Ollivander answered, his eyes as dreamy as ever. Ajas nodded when loud screams were heard outside of the shop, sending jolts of terror down his spine. He cautiously approached the window while Ollivader cowered under his desk, letting out a fearful gasp.

A dozen of cloaked and masked figures were firing curses at the passerbys, filling the atmosphere with colorful halos. Hundreds of hexes flew by, hitting civilians, the more frequent used being Avada Kedavra and Crucios. It was obvious that their aim was to create a climate of fear as they didn't differentiate between man, women and children. Ajas joined the battle, starting to fire spells at the attackers and he wasn't above using their own weapons against them and Aks were sent from both sides. Some Aurors joined the battle and Ajas decided to use his abilities. Some Death Eaters backed off as he approached them , wandlessly throwing off curses. He gracefully dodged and attacked, seeming to perform a deadly dance. Using the fact that the attacker's attentions were diverted from them, people tried to get their loved ones to shelter, ignoring the corpses laying on the alley.

As he surveilled the ungoing fight, Ajas felt his heart stop. A girl, no older than 3 or 4 years old with brown curly hair was right in the middle of the battle, crying her eyes out in front of her mother's body. Nobody was doing anything to get her out of there. Ajas didn't have to think twice before he ran to the girl. He knew that, considering her position, it was just a matter of time before she was hit by a curse. He ducked and dodged through the spell exchanges with an agility obtained in fights against Voldemort and Death Eaters. He was almost there when a masked man dodged a curse that was fired at him and the spell now headed straight to the little girl. Ajas didn't hesitate as he caught the hazel teary eyes. With a speed he didn't know he posessed, Ajas dived and pushed the girl away from the curse.

An orange light filled his vision and Ajas waited, waited for the curse to hit him. The liver melting curse, he recognised before closing his eyes. Yet, he waited for the blow but nothing happened. It couldn't have been his shielding wristwatch, powerful shields can't counter this particular hex. He opened his eyes and felt something burn on his finger ; the onyx ring took an orangy glow before returning to it's original color. Ajas felt perplexed but he had no time ; he made sure the little girl was safe in a shop before plungeing back in the battle.

"Glacialis Statua!" He screamed and one of the DE turned into ice. "Confringo! Stupefy!" Another death eater fell unconscious. Ajas decided to move on to the nastier spells. "Interstringo statumen!" He shouted and watch a man fall limply on the ground. The man made a gurgling sound before his ribs stretched and broke out from his sternum, piercing his chest's skin before diving back, ripping his lungs apart. Ajas stared horrified at his own spellwork but he did not allow his emotions to take over. Several pops were heard and Ajas saw the battlefield being surrounded by order members and aurors. Wearing a satisfied smile, Ajas reached a building before slowly melting into the shadows. No one noticed about his whereabouts ; only the little girl stood there, staring at his invisible self, wide eyed. Ajas approached her slowly before whispering out

"What is your name, little girl?"

The child smiled, knowing it was her savior speaking. "I am Alexandra Underhill…" Ajas recognised the name – it was one of the old pureblooded family holding several seats at the wizengamot.

"Are you alone?" He questionned

Tears rolled down Alexandra's cheeks as she sobbily replied "My momma…she…she…" Ajas shushed the girl as he held her comfortingly in his arms. "Follow me, I will bring you home" He whispered. He took Alexandra with him, becoming invisible again and walking into the leaky cauldron before discreetly floo travelling to the Underhill Manor. He left the girl there before grabbing some powder again. He winced slightly as he reached the chimney ; his entire body was in pain. Several cuts and gashes were visible on his limbs, latching out blood.

"Wait!" Alexandra held his arm, before asking him, her shiny eyes pleading "You saved my life. What is your name?"

"I am Ajas. Ajas Mephysto." Ajas smiled, before flooing back to his home, leaving Alexandra staring at the chimney.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11:**

**A.N: ** Chapter rated M. Contains lemon. From now on I'll answer comments directly on commenting sections

The next few weeks were uneventful as Ajas spent them studying, duelling. He dwelled deeper in the dark arts, studying blood rituals and magic. He wanted to initiate himself in necromancy to summon the deads as he needed to communicate with his mother, and necromancy comes with the studies of runes. Runes to create the summoning circles, runes to direct the magic. Ajas never truly paid attention to this discipline prior to this summer but now he understands the necessity of it in almost every branches of magic.

Runes are useful in spell creation ; they limit the spell range and define it's actions, set physical are the link between someone's mind and energy and are necessary in conventional spell crafting; one can always use his willpower to make something happen but it will not be as precise as someone using a specific spell. Spells direct the magic and concentrate it, canalise it. Runes are necessary in summoning rituals, elemental magic and wards. And it is the reason why Ajas is having a severe headache as he tries to remember different scandinavian and germanic runes, copying them again and again. He wanted to create his own duelling spells , modify several properties. For example the stunning spell "Stupefy". He wanted to create a spell that has the same actions but only him can cast the effective counter spell. Such things would become really handy…

He spent every evenings duelling in the Elven Gates club and is now a 2nd class golden dueller with 8 golden points and 2 silver points. Going through 3rd class was a piece of cake, but things are getting more and more challengeing. Ajas can't wait to access the 1st class ; he saw many high ranking Death Eaters such as the Carrow siblings, Dolohov and Lestranges battling there. He also improved in knife throwing and is now always carrying knives with him ; Ajas smiled as he thought of his progress. The amount of things he learned in 2 months were more consequent than what he would learn in a Hogwart's school year.

And the old Balthazar was as useful as ever, as he taught and helped Ajas in almost everything. Ajas had still to figure out the wizard that was Balthazar, because the man was possibly brilliant and extremely knowledgeable. In fact, he had secretly researched about wizards once named Herpo and came up with quite disturbing results ;

"_Herpo the foul was a Greek Dark Wizard. He is one of the earliest known dark wizards and his work is still a lasting aspect of dark magic to date. He is best known as the first wizard to hatch a Basilisk. He is reputed to have inventd many vile curses and was also the first wizard known to successfully create a Horcrux, having designed the ritual himself. Due to this, he obviously committed murder to split his soul. Herpo was also one of the earlies known european Parselmouths"_

Once again Ajas falls on the word "Horcrux". According to the text, a horcrux's possibly an intricate and very dark part of soul magic that includes soul splitting. Ajas decided to look further into the word because he feels that whatever it is, it is linked to the locket he bares.

:Balthazar…Balthazar…: Ajas hissed, merrily. The snake's head jerked up, locking it's ruby eyes with Ajas's.

:What is it?:

:Are you a horcrux?: Ajas chuckled out. Balthazar glared at him

:That is the stupidest question I've ever heard in my previous 2500 years of life: Balthazar mumbled.

:Pity, thought you'd fall for that:

:Seriously do you think I'm that retarded?: The snake snapped at him, coiling itself around Ajas's wrists. :Where'd you find that anyway?:

:Said your name was Herpo. I found Herpo the foul….: Ajas replied, pensively

:You see child, sometimes like now you can be really sharp. Some other times I do wonder whether or not you are trisomic. Maybe it is a result of centuries of inbreeding….:

Ajas glared back at Balthazar :I'm no pureblood. My biological father is half blood and my mother is muggleborn:

:Yet you are very powerful. I've always said that blood ideologies are rubbish:

Ajas gaped at the snake :and I thought as the Black line's guardian you're ought to be bigoted:

:The whole line is idiot. Almost: Balthazar hissed out as he slithered away. Ajas smiled as he continued his researches.

He flipped through pages, went through entire tomes. He gritted his teeth – he had been researching for the entire day about Horcruxes in his library, and it was unfruitful. He picked up the pile of books and placed them back in their respective shelves, grumbling darkly. Some books referred to others and by the end of the list he knew what tome he should look for ; _Secrets of the Darkest Arts,_ by Owle Bullock. According to the referrence list he made, this book is extremely rare and describes precisely the steps to take in order to create a Horcrux, including a very thorough definition. Ajas sighed ; he doesn't know how long he'll be looking until he finds what he wants to know. He sat again, facing his desk as he peeked through the window.

The sun was setting on London, submerging the city in a golden halo. Each buildings reflected the orangy light, making the scenery almost ethereal looking. A warm summer breeze carressed Ajas face as he lifted the locket from his chest and held it in his palm. He traced the "S" with the tip of his fingers, feeling the warm magic pulsing through his veins. The locket hummed slightly and It gave out the impression of being…appreciative. Warthm embalmed Ajas's magical core as he absent mindly caresses it. He could feel the small part of soul stirring in it, and it's smell was so enticing.

His stomach growled as he realised he didn't eat for the entire day and so he went out, holding his dementor cloak nearby. He went through the brothel, unnoticed ; it was as busy as always, filled with giggling prostitutes and man of low moral standards. He joined the muggle world, willing to get to the fish and chips stand.

And he stopped abruptly. The man who walked past him…his soul. His soul was sinfully delicious smelling. Ajas turned around to see the man passing by hurriedly, avoiding the other pedestrians. Ajas couldn't help but feel his hunger reach new levels as he decided to follow the muggle. Whatever the man had done, it was a very grave crime and it made his essence smell so distinguishly sweet. Ajas's stomach grumbled again, watching the man walk. Ajas silently accompanied him for over 15 minutes when the man reached a small, rusty looking house. The pink painting was fading and several cracks were visible on the façade ; it was by no means well kept. The fat muggle conpiscuously unlocked the door, glancing around to make sure no one was watching him. While he was doing so, Ajas halted besides him and sniffed around, taking in the nature of the man's crimes

_A rapist. A sex predator, a pedophile…_

He smirked as his instincts took over him. Dinner will be delicious.

Ajas blessed himself for wearing his new silencious dragonhide boots. The inside was dusty ; the pink flowery wallpaper was ripped off at many parts. Right at the opposite of the entry door was a cracked mirror within a golden colored frame. Ajas examined the room as the man switched the lights on, rendering Ajas visible again. The man suddenly spun around and abruptly halted when he saw Ajas standing there.

"What? Who-" He started when the air froze. Terror gripped his throat as he coiled back before falling to his knees. "No..oh..God" he whispered, his eyes darting around as he seeked an escape. Ajas chuckled darkly as he stepped forward. His glamour melted away, showing his true appearance as his pitch black lifeless eyes glowed with magic.

"The sinners like you are left to the demons of hell" Ajas murmured, his voice trenching through the atmosphere like cold knives. He towered the man as he reached for his face, casting an oppressive shadow on the corner. Ajas traced the man's rough traits with his black claws, smiling evilly. The man wet his pant as he begged for mercy.

Ajas offered none.

He slowly opened his mouth, breathing in the man's soul as it left his body. The soul went into him, feeding him with an incredible amount of energy. He no longer felt hungry…He felt alive. The man's soul pulsed through his blood, reviving his magical core, making his aura dance in the wind. The body fell lifelessly on the floor.

Ajas stared before taking in what truly occurred. _No…NO! This can't be…._ He held a hand at his chest, hyperventilating as he backed off. Shock overwhelmed him ; _yet it does feel so good…_ He remembered the man's screams ; he felt them. And it was so delicious….And so wrong.

:Finish him off, child: Balthazar hissed :It would be better for him:

Ajas shutted his eyes tightly as he nodded. He concentrated his energy, visualising the man dead before casting with a wave of his hand :

"Avada Kedavra!"…And the body stopped breathing.

Without a last glance, Ajas went back to the brothel. He avoided everyone as he stepped in his appartment, taking a cold shower.

He scrubbed himself harshly,feeling horrible. Sulking again in a semi depressive state when a knock was heard on the door. He attached a towel around his waist before opening it, seeing Mai standing there. The girl was dressed in muggle shorts and she looked absolutely desirable. Ajas felt a rising heat in his body as he felt the girl's eyes on his torso. She blushed heavily, before gasping and excusing herself. Ajas smirked, gripping on the girl's wrist before pulling her in.

"I just wanted to thank you for helping me…" She spoke out before Ajas lips crashed on her own. Mai froze, her heartbeat accelerating as her mind tried to wrap around the situation. Ajas did not care ; he kissed her hungrily, releasing all the tension he felt during the day. He pinned her against the wall, his hands holding her wrists upwards. He felt his warm erection pressing against his lower belly as Mai responded to his kiss, licking his lips and teasing his tongue. He felt shudders running through his body when he heard Mai moan and he trailed his kisses down to her neck. She caressed him, rubbing his back and scratching his scalp, clamping on his hair. Ajas nibbled on her neck, before he picked her up and carried her to his bed, lying on top of her. She pulled her shirt off, revealing her round, soft looking breasts. Ajas unclasped her bra as he took in the magnificient sight in front of him, his arousal reaching new hights.

Her milky white skin…her perky breasts and erected pink nipples. Ajas was blinded by lust as he avidly took one of them into his mouth, sucking. Mai shivered, moaning. Ajas continued his ministrations as he pulled her shorts down. Mai buckled her hips for more skin contact before hissing angrily and reaching for Ajas's towel. She rapidly unfastened it, leaving him in his naked glory. He grinded his erection against her sex, feeling it's wetness through her panties. A shiver went down his spine, making his penis harden further (as if it was possible…). He ripped her underwear off, trailing his kisses downwards, fucking her navel with his tongue.

"Oh…please…yes Ajas…please…"

He smirked against her skin before placing his head between her spreaded legs. The sight..it was ravishing. Her pink labia and erected clitoris, shiny due to her sticky wetness. Drops of precum covered Ajas's penis as he greedily lapped her sex. His tongue flicked on her clit, sucking on it. The girl moaned and groaned out his name, buckling her hips. He continued for a while, desire pulsing through him, feeling that his penis was about to implode. He saw that she almost reached orgasm and smirked before pulling away. Mai swore and grunted in frustration, staring down at him half lidded. Her redened face was covered with sweat and her breathing heavy. Ajas silenced her with a hungry kiss, placing himself at her entry.

"Are you ready ?" He whispered while nibbling her ear

"yes…" She spoke out, her chest heaving.

And she lost her virginity with one slow thrust. She cried out and Ajas tried to control himself, remaining in her and waiting. He caressed her face, softly kissing her.

"you may…." She gasped out. The words made Ajas's self control shatter as he thrusted in and out. She moaned, he moaned. It was a concert voiced passion and desire, growing in intensity. He slammed through her tight walls, feeling her vagina warmly wrapping around his arousal. He shutted his eyes, increasing the speed. And the girl came to an edge ; she orgasmed violently, screaming his name. When Ajas felt her tight walls spasm, he couldn't hold back anymore as he filled her insides with his overflowing seed.

He breathed heavily for while, feeling the girl's stares on him. Sweat covered his sheets and he held her close to him

"Did it…did it meant anything?" Mai asked. Ajas closed his eyes…._Did it?_

"You are my friend, Mai. And I care for you…But love? I am afraid I am not able to…" He answered after a while. His heart clenched painfully as Mai's eyes were filled with sadness. She kissed him on his cheek

"I understand…"

"You don't. You do not know" He whispered "But I care for you."

Mai looked at him, smiling slightly as they both fell asleep.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

**AN: **I'm so sorry for this super long delay. I had exams and everything….and my inspiration was somewhat lacking. I had to rewrite this chapter several times before having something acceptable. I also had to set several things clear in my story…Hope you enjoy this chapter….

A tall hooded figure slowly entered the shop, his left hand resting on the glass door as it creaked open. The shop was as dark and dusty as usual, it's walls covered by tall shelves filled with dark artefacts. Some objects, including a beautifully intriguing opal necklace were exposed. The wooden floor slightly cracked under each of his steps as he stopped for a while, examinating it before reaching out to a wooden cabinet at the corner. His long pale fingers traced the carvings, mildly interested when his observation was halted by a short pudgy man with oily hair appearing behind the counter. The old man parted his mouth to question when the air froze ; he shivered, the hair at the back of his neck rised as despair overwhelmed him. He had no trouble identifying the newcommer then and he bowed. The room's temperature became normal again

"Welcome,…L-Lor-d Me-mephysto…H-how may I help yo-you?" Borgin sputtered out, his face still pale. Ajas inwardly smirked ; he had spent some time training his new abilities and needed to experiment it. Now he could have the same effect than any dementor at will. The hooded figure abruptly turned towards the shopkeeper, his cloak swirling.

"A Book. _Secrets of the Darkest Arts,_ by Owle Bullock ; Do you have it?" Ajas asked. The man coiled back slightly before shaking his head.

"No…I don't have it. This book is very rare, it had been forbidden by the ministry for a very long time now. I think the only copy left is at Hogwarts. In the Headmaster's office – rumors says it had been removed from the restricted sections by Dumbledore in the fifties" Borgin answered fastly, his body still trembling. Ajas nodded before simply leaving the place in a calm demeanour.

_It means that I must somehow break in Dumbledore's office…but he's always there. How can I do this?_ He mused, before covering himself with his invisibility cloak. _Bloody snake. Can't he just tell me what a horcrux is to make things easier? No, ofcourse not - _ He thought sarcastically. He confronted Balthazar with it

:Insufferable boy. I was created before my first horcrux. I do not know much of it, just the basics – I only started to design the ritual back then. Upon my creation it wasn't completed yet ; the reason why I am not telling you what a horcrux is is because I want to know the full ritual myself. Plus, I don't want to make things too easy for you – some things must be learnt on your own. : Balthazar spat out angrily.

Ajas shook his head in disappointment before continueing his track. He walked swiftly through the crowds of Knockturn Alley when he saw two familiar figures taking a turn to Diagon Alley ; Dedalus Diggle and Kingsley decided to follow them ; he needed some news about the Order. They spoke to each other in hushed tones, glancing suspiciously around to make sure no one overheard them.

"…well yes, our forces had diminished due to the previous attack. We need new people….that's why we've been trying to get foreign ministries to our cause…" Kingsley whispered.

"Is that why Dumbledore's abroad?" Diggle asked

"Yeah….He's having a hard time convincing them. He will probably be back next week"

"Not so loud!" Diggle reprimanded, before casting a silencing spell. Their conversation became muffled but Ajas did not care. His insides boiled of excitement as he moved back, soundlessly. The opportunity was perfect so while he walked home, he thought of a plan.

He would break into Dumbledore's office tonight, to get the book.

He went back to his appartment, passing by some giggling prostitutes and some drunken man. The girls winked at him before intensifying their giggles but Ajas did not mind them. He had more important matters to think off. He needed something perfect so that no one would ever suspect him ; first, he needs to get there and since he couldn't apparate, there was only one solution left ; floo. But floo had it's flaws because it is controlled by the ministry therefore traceable. Unless…

He'd walk from the brothel to the Leaky Cauldron. Then take the floo there and go to the Three Broomsticks and then go to Hogwarts. As for the gargoyle in front of Dumbledore's office, the passwords had always something to do with sweets. He couldn't risk to floo travel directly to the headmaster's office by fear to set the wards off.

The plan was perfect. No one would ever be able to trace it back to him, seeing that both pubs are extremely frequented locations. And he stayed in none…

Evening approached and Ajas's anxiety increased ; He paced nervously throughout his appartment.

:Master your emotions, child. You won't be able to succceed anything in such state.: the silver snake advised. Ajas halted abruptly before ungraciously falling on his bed. He sat up, crossing his legs and started practicing his occlumency. The old snake was right ; he couldn't think clearly when he was stressed. Ajas chose to sit down, his back up straight and his leg crossed. The Lotus position, perfect for daily occlumency practices.

He shutted his eyes, trying to shove his thoughts away while remaining alert to the environment. As hard as he tried, he couldn't help feeling the overwhelming apprehension ; each seconds passing by felt like an eternity for him. He waited and waited, waited until the sun sat. Waited until Night's realm took over the lands. Because Night, Dark is where he belonged : it is his hunting terrain.

Ajas stood up, pulling his dragon hide boots out. He was about to leave his appartment when, on a second thought, he decided to bring along his invisibility cloak. It was nighttime, but Hogwart's corridors are brightly lit, so are the pubs. He slipped into the shadows unbeknowingly to others as he ran through Basilius, Knockturn and finally Diagon Alley. The wizarding shopping streets in these times gave an eery feeling to any passerbys ; the few remaining were on alert, afraid to see a Death Eater jumping out of nowhere to assault them.

Ajas shook his head as he continued his race to the Leaky Cauldron. It was empty ; only a few customers sitting sparsely, cloaked and hooded. Tom the barman was standing at a corner, picking up dishes and cups. Ajas waited behind a wooden post, making sure that no one paid attention to the fireplace before approaching it, glancing left and right. He grabbed floo powder and threw it, murmuring "The Three Broomstick!" before disappearing…The flammes turned green for a second.

He landed in the very lively and crowded pub. Crowded and noisy enough so that no one noticed him ; it was so contrasting with the Leaky Cauldron! He exited the place, making sure he didn't bump in anyone, before walking towards Honeydukes. He then went through the tunnel and pulled out the Marauder's Map, checking that no one was around.

The castle was empty of both students and professors because of the holidays ; It was all too ideal…

_Which is the reason why I shouldn't lure myself into a false sense of security._

Ajas strolled through the dimly lit corridors with his featherlight steps. Never had the castle been this silent ; the only audible sounds were the soft snorings of the portraits. He almost reached the Gargoyle guarding the Headmaster's tower before halting abruptly, his chest heaving.

_The Gargoyle can speak…If Dumbledore ever realised that the book went missing and asked it, it would answer that it was me…it knows my voice. It might not remember at all but I shouldn't take any chances…._

On these thoughts, he casted a spell on himself, rendering his voice unrecognisable. He then stood faceing the stone bird

"Acid Pops"

Nothing

"Cockroach Clusters"

Nothing

"Fizzing Whisbee…Sherbet Lemon….chocolate frogs….Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans"He recited all the wizarding sweets he knew, his temper boiling up. Ajas dropped his arms alongside his body, his fists clenching. He was starting to loose patience and almost wanted to hex the door guard

"…Jelly Belly Candies…" The platform started to slide, much to Ajas's surprise, freeing the passage. Ajas walked forward before standing in front of the office's entrance ; he knew the way all too well.

"Alohomora!"…Nothing. Ajas fisted his hands so tightly that his knuckles became white. He glared at the door before a detail came up in his mind.

Phineas Nigellus once said that the door was somewhat sentient, which is why Umbridge couldn't access the Headmaster's office because she wasn't a rightful one.

_I must fetch this book, I need to help Dumbledore….._

Click! The door unlocked itself and Ajas couldn't hide his smirk as he pushed it open, leading to the spacious circle that was the office. The mahogany desk towered in the middle, to which led two flights of stairs. It was covered with diverse silver objects, some emitting colourful fumes while others made curious noises. But most were broken from Ajas's last visit and his heart ached at the sight. The walls were covered by tall bookshelves except the one behind the desk, on which was hanged the portraits of the previous headmasters.

Ajas sighed ; now he has to go through the whole library in order to find the book he wanted. He started to determine the classifying order when Balthazar interrupted him with an angry hiss

:Are you a wizard or what?:

Ajas gaped for awhile, unable to answer the snake's query before he facepalmed himself.

"Accio _Secrets of the Darkest Arts_"

He waited for a second, a second that seemed to be an eternity. He almost started to loose hope when an old leatherbound book flew toward him. He caught it midway before examining it, weighing it with his hand. He carressed the book's spine almost passionately, his eyes tracing the golden letters…

_Secrets of the Darkest Arts_

A wild grin graced Ajas features ; once home, he will uncover the secrets of the locket. Why it was made, how it was made….whom it belonged to. He shrank the old tome before putting it into his pocket and turned towards the exit when a silverish light caught his eye.

Dumbledore's pensieve. At the far left corner.

Curiosity drowned Ajas as he approached it. He always knew that curiosity will be his downfall, but he couldn't help it.

_Let's see what the old man's hiding_

Without any further thoughts, Ajas plunged into the pensieve, letting the silvery liquid embalm him. The memory played before his eyes

He stood in a small cottage with simple furnitures. A small red brick fireplace at his left lit the entire room, being the only source of light. Facing it was a large round shaped wooden table where four persons sat, enjoying their dinner ; three male teenagers and a younger girl. Ajas almost choked on his own tongue when he recognised one of them ; red long hair, half moon spectacles and twinkling blue eyes… Dumbledore. A teenager Dumbledore. His nose wasn't broken yet and his traits were refined ; long aquiline nose, large eyes, full lips and a aritocratically pointed face.. Next to him sat another redhead that Ajas identified as Aberforth ; same electric blue eyes, same nose and a goatee. In front of Aberforth was a handsome young man with golden hair, blue eyes, a roman nose, high cheekbones and a squared jaw. On his right was a young girl, perhaps 11 or 12 years old. She had strawberry blond hair, large blue eyes and reminded Ajas of Luna…the same lunatic , dreamy glint with a hint of sadness. She paid no heed to the surrounding conversation

"Imagine what we could do, Albus. Travelling throughout the world, discovering all the hidden knowledges!" The blonde teenager spoke,excitedly in a heavy german accent. Thirst for knowledge, greed…thirst for power could be seen in the depth of his eyes. Albus stared at him almost lovingly, smiling softly.

"I would follow you anywhere, Gellert…" He spoke out, his words filled with tenderness.

_Wait…Gellert?What? As in Grindelwald?_ Ajas coughed out. _Talk about dropping a bomb_

"What about Ariana?" Aberforth interjected, killing the lively conversation. Albus looked down, almost shamefully while Gellert glared annoyedly at Aberforth. A heavy silence followed ; it seemed like none of them thought of Ariana.

"Well, I can always bring her with me…" Albus mumbled.

"Bring her with you? In this health state?" Aberforth raised his voice, pointing towards the young girl. "You think she can travel? Mother made you responsible for her wellbeing, Albus Percival Wulfric Bryan Dumbledore! You think you can just drag her along? Just like that? She's ILL!"

Albus seemed to be at loss of words. Gellert stood up, his face contorted in an expression of pure anger

"What can you understand, you goat-lover, about knowledge? You may have none, that doesn't mean that you can stop your older brother from getting it!" He almost screamed.

"HOW DARE YOU? UNLIKE YOU, I ACTUALLY HAVE A SENSE OF RESPONSABILITIES AND I SUGGEST YOU TO GET SOME YOURSELF!" Aberforth stood up, pulling his wand out. Albus's eyes grew wide as both man started cursing themselves, before he entered the duel himself. Dishes flew throughout the room as rays of multicolored lights were exchanged. Furniture fell and broke, sometimes transfigured into stone shields, sometimes threw around.

Ariana fell helplessly on the stone floor as she watched her siblings fight. Tears filled her eyes, her lips quivering before she stood up again. This time, her expression became fierce as she ran in the fight, trying to stop it but her efforts were vain. The discord doubled in intensity, deadly spells being pronounced ; no one paid attention to her.

When suddenly a purple light rushed towards her feeble body.

Ajas wanted to scream but he couldn't do anything. He wanted to shield her ; So beautiful, so innocent…so fragile. Yet so brave

And she lifelessly fell.

The battle immediately halted. The three teenagers forgot within a second their previous quarell as Aberforth rushed towards her, screaming as if he himself was in agony. Albus stood still, shell shocked and horror stricken as his eyes slowly moved towards his baby sister's body ; his brain had still to process what just happened.

Gellert's face sported an expression of utter disbelief before he rushed out of the door

"GELLERT GRINDELWALD!" A scream echoed behind him.

The memory ended, leaving Ajas breathless. Breathless because it was a lot to take in. Breathless because he couldn't help feeling sorrowful. It was strange ; Dumbledore never spoke of his childhood and Ajas could see why. Ariana seemed to be such a sweet innocent child and Ajas already felt a wave of sympathy when he first looked at her. Her death was a tragic event ; if he was Dumbledore he would've blamed himself for the rest of his life.

_To have your sister die because you wanted to follow your lover._

Ajas wasn't blind, far from it. He saw how Dumbledore stared at Grindelwald. A surge of pity awoke in the depths of his heart as he sat against the desk, thoughtful.

_It takes a lot of bravery to face your own friend…your own lover. Yet Dumbledore defeated him._

Among all of the old man's wrongdoings in Ajas's life, he couldn't help praising the headmaster. Ajas waited for his emotions to still before he started examining the shelves above the stone recipient. They were covered by hundreds of flasks, each classified and labelled. Ajas's glance skimmed over each sections before he fell on a piece of parchment indicating:

TMR


	13. Chapter 13

**Last chapter's ending**

_Among all of the old man's wrongdoings in Ajas's life, he couldn't help praising the headmaster. Ajas waited for his emotions to still before he started examining the shelves above the stone recipient. They were covered by hundreds of flasks, each classified and labelled. Ajas's glance skimmed over each sections before he fell on a piece of parchment indicating:_

_TMR_

**Chapter 13**

**AN: **This time I don't have any valid excuses for the delay…just my lazy bum and well my postponing habits. And well, I've been reading loads too (Really love Inheritance Cycle by Christopher Paolini). This chapter is sort of a filler….i hope that you'll enjoy it. And please review. **AND PLEASE CHECK jessiester's AMAZING FANART ; This is her vision of Ajas : **

**http : / jessiester .deviantart .com /art/Tormentor-244702763?fullview=1 (without the space and double slash after http...dunno, it doesnt show up)**

He stood there, stoically as he glanced at all other sections. _Initials…Is it who I think it is?_ Without a second thought, he grabbed one of the vials labelled and poured the silvery liquid and threads into the pensieve. Ajas then plunged, letting himself embalmed by the silver clouds.

He was standing in a country lane and facing him was a short, plump man with thick glasses.

_Possibly the donator of this memory…._

The man briskly walked down the lane and Ajas followed him, paying attention to the surrounding envirronment. They walked past a wooden sign " Little Hangleton, 1 mile". They continued walking until the lane fell away, sloping steeply down a hillside. The village appeared then, nestled in a valley, it's church and graveyard clearly visible and…highly familiar. Ajas thought the man was heading towards the village but he took a turn onto a narrow dirt track bordered by wild hedgerows until he halted in front of a dark patch of trees. Ajas narrowed his eyes as he discerned a building half hidden behind the trunks ; the building looked grim and abandonned, reminding Ajas slightly of the Shrieking Shack. The only thing which suggested that this place was inhabited was the steam issuing from one of the windows.

The door, on which was nailed a dead snake, was briskly oppened, revealing a man with thick hair matted with dirt. His teeth were almost brown and some were missing ; his eyes were small, pig like, not unlike Vernon's ones. They stared in different directions and the overall effect seemed scary to the visitor as he backed off, but it was comical to Ajas. Almost.

:You're not welcome: The crazed looking man hissed

_Parseltongue? Is he possibly related to Lord Voldemort or…well me?_ Ajas cringed at the idea of having such a…disturbing looking relative. The visitor shuddered as he presented himself nervously. _From the ministry of magic…_

:You're not welcomed here: The shack's owner kept hissing as he brandished a wand and a bloodied knife. He walked toward the ministry's agent and hitted him when a voice from inside the house called out

"Morfin!"

The man halted and sidestepped, letting an eldery ape like man reach the doorway.

"Ministry, is it?" said the older man, looking down at Ogden. "Correct!" said the agent angrily, dabbing his face. "And you, I take it, are Mr. Gaunt?"

"S'right," said Gaunt. "Got you in the face, did he?" "Yes, he did!" snapped the visitor.

"Should've made your presence known, shouldn't you?" said Gaunt aggressively. "This is private property. Can't just walk in here and not expect my son to defend himself."

"Defend himself against what, man?" said the ministry's agent, clambering back to his feet.

"Busybodies. Intruders. Muggles and filth." replied

_Yes,_ Ajas thought ,_ definitely related. _Ajas followed in the house , witnessing the scene. He felt his respect rise for the ministry's agent when he deflected the questions concerning his blood's purity.

The house seemed to contain three tiny rooms. Two doors led off the main room, which served as kitchen and living room com-bined. Morfin was sitting in a filthy armchair beside the smoking fire, twisting a live adder between his thick fingers and crooning softly at it in Parseltongue:

:Hissy, hissy, little snakey,

Slither on the floor

You be good to Morfin

Or he'll nail you to the door. :

_Mental. Completely mental, this one._ Ajas thought as he examined the interior. It was then that he noticed a young woman wearing a ragged dress who was visibly cooking. Her hair was lank and dull and she had a plain, pale, rather heavy face. Her eyes, like her brother's, stared in opposite directions. She looked a little cleaner than the two men, but Ajas thought he had never seen a more defeated-looking person.

Gaunt presented her as "Merope" and the visitor saluted her. She did not answer and glanced at them in fright.

_Poor creature…_Ajas instantly took pity of her while the ministry's agent (Ogden, now that he paid attention to the insignia attached to the man's shirt) reported about Morfin using magic on muggles.

Merope dropped one of the pots, producing a loud clang. Gaunt instantly bellowed at her while she scrubbed the floor, calling her filthy muggle and other horrible sounding names. _Especially coming from the mouth of a father…._ He then mended the pot and continued screaming at her.

_Poor woman. If that's how squibs are treated in the purist pureblood families, no wonder why they all flee to the muggle world. _

Meanwhile, the situation degradated as Ogden spoke about Morfin's crimes and possible sentences. Gaunt insulted Ogden before glauting about his own line and pure ancestry. Ajas lazilly observed the scene when something caught his eye…

The ring on Gaunt's finger. He waved it in front of Ogden

"See this? See this? Know what it is? Know where it came from? Centuries it's been in our family, that's how far back we go, and pure-blood all the way! Know how much I've been offered for this, with the Peverell coat of arms engraved on the stone?"

_The Peverell coat of arms engraved on the stone? A stone? _Ajas's heart skipped a beat as he loomed closer, examining the black stone on the ring.

_It can't be…._

:The stone of resurrection!: For the first time, Balthazar spoke. :That's what it is!:

Ajas couldn't utter a single word. The implications are gigantic….

The scene continued to play in front of them when Gaunt dragged his daughter forward and pulled out…the Locket.

"See this?" he bellowed at Ogden, shaking a heavy gold locket at him, while Merope spluttered and gasped for breath.

"I see it, I see it!" said Ogden hastily

.

"Slytherins!" yelled Gaunt. "Salazar Slytherin's! We're his last living descendants, what do you say to that, eh?"

_So the locket belonged to Slytherin…And yes, they are definitely related to Voldemort. My paternal family? Ugh…_

Ajas wanted to bang his head when realisation drew upon him

_Ofcourse they are, I saw their name on Gringott's inheritance report. _Hundreds of questions kept swirling in his mind concerning the locket ; _Who's soul was within? Slytherin perhaps? Or one of the Gaunts? Or Voldemort…? For what purpose….Oh well, the book's for that._

Ajas kept witnessing the memory until a jippling clopping sounds of horses and loud, laughing voices drifted through the open window. Apparently the winding lane to the village passed very close to the copse where the house stood. Merope raised her face, starkly pale ; _why does it earn her attention this way?_ Ajas peered through the window.

"My God, what an eyesore!" rang out a girl's voice, as clearly audible through the open window as if she had stood in the room beside them. "Couldn't your father have that hovel cleared away, Tom?"

"It's not ours," said a young man's voice. "Everything on the other side of the valley belongs to us, but that cottage belongs to an old tramp called Gaunt, and his children. The son's quite mad, you should hear some of the stories they tell in the village —"

"Tom," said the girl's voice again, now so close they were clearly right beside the house, "I might be wrong — but has somebody nailed a snake to that door?"

"Good lord, you're right!" said the man's voice. "That'll be the son, I told you he's not right in the head. Don't look at it, Cecilia, darling."

Ajas gaped ; the man riding the horse had ebony hair, high cheekbones…a straight nose… An all too familiar face.

_Tom Riddle Sr. So, it is you…_

The jingling and clopping sounds were now growing faint again.

"'Darling,'" whispered Morfin in Parseltongue, looking at his sister. "'Darling, he called her. So he wouldn't have you anyway."

Merope was so white Harry felt sure she was going to faint.

"What's that?" said Gaunt sharply, also in Parseltongue, looking from his son to his daughter. "What did you say, Morfin?"

"She likes looking at that Muggle," said Morfin, a vicious expression on his face as he stared at his sister, who now looked terrified. "Always in the garden when he passes, peering through the hedge at him, isn't she? And last night — "

Ajas paid no heed to the surrounding conversation as he stared at his paternal grandparents…_How on earth did those two end up together?_

He did not ponder more as he was expulsed out of the pensieve when the memory ended. Ajas decided that he should take all of the vials within the TMR section as they were an incredible source of information.

:That was extremely enlighting: the silver snake hissed :But we shall not remain here any longer than necessary:

Ajas nodded as he grabbed each vials carefully before tucking them into his bag. He then smirked contentedly before disappearing under his invisibility cloak.

Merely an hour later he was home and he couldn't believe it himself either ; for once, absolutely nothing happened. He decided that he should get a pensieve as soon as possible, buying it or…

_There's one in my vault, _ he remembered. He decided to go straight to Gringotts tomorrow morning.

:If we're lucky, we might find the resurrection stone…: The silver snake hissed once Ajas fell on his bed. He decided to postpone the horcrux studies to tomorrow because fatigue took over his body. Yes, finding the resurrection stone might be a solution to all his problems because he could use it to communicate and ask the necessary questions to his mother. He had considered necromancy but it is a very dangerous art ; one could lose himself in the realm of the deads.

_But where to look for the stone? Gaunt's vaults?...fuck no. Perhaps their house? It's worth an investigation._

"Gah, so many things to do…" Ajas mumbled to himself as he stood up to fold his invisibility cloak and then properly put it into his trunk.

:Where did you get that cloak?: Balthazar asked.

:It used to be my…stepfather's. And he got it from his grandfather…: Ajas answered, absentmindly.

:Child, do you realise that any normal invisibility cloak becomes useless after 50 years?:

_What is he trying to get to? _Ajas suddenly forgot his previous numbness and focused onto the cloak and Balthazar's words. He unfolded it, letting it's thin and perfectly even texture slip through his fingers.

And it was for the first time that he noticed a tiny symbol embroidered on a corner

_A triangle, a circle and a stick pointing upwards…._


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14:**

**Disclaimer : Nothing belongs to me here. JKRowling's the Goddess**

**A.N : **Well, thank you for your comments because it makes me less lazy xD. And please keep on commenting :p

He had been turning over in his bed for the last couple of hours. His sheets were tangled around him, sticking on his skin as sweat poured out of his body. Ajas grunted before kicking them off as he sat up, his hand pressed against his forehead. His mind was in complete turmoil due to the discoveries he made earlier that day.

_My cloak is a hallow.I had it since I was 11, and I never knew anything…_ He almost wanted to damn himself. He stood off his bed as he realised that sleep was a lost cause. He then paced through his appartment, opening every windows and letting the night's fresh wind circulate throughout his home.

After taking his shower he paused in front of the mirror, observing his true form in all it's naked glory. His grayish skin reflected the pale moonlight, giving it an ethereal marble like glow. White marble with black veins pattern… His body was tall and slender, fine muscles flexing at each movements. He traced his facial traits with the tip of his fingers ; it didn't feel as foreign as it used to be. He was getting accustomed to this appearance, his real appearance. He didn't want to conceal it, he didn't find it repulsive anymore. It was…himself. He embraced his nature.

_Alright, let's not waste any more time._

He briskly walked out of the bathroom, dressing himself meanwhile before letting himself fall couch facing the fireplace. He then grabbed his pouch before carefully pulling out the leatherbound book

_Secrets of the Darkest Arts_

His finger caressed the cover and the spine, weighting it and then carefully opening it as if the book was a sacred relic. A soft breeze penetrated the room, ruffling his hair. Chills went down his spine, but he wasn't sure whether it was due to the freshness or to the very fact that he was about to read something so…satisfying. Something that he had been pleading to know. And it was with contentment that his mind plunged into the book.

XxXxXxXxXx

"_The creation of a Horcrux allows one to gain the ability to resurrect themselves if their body is destroyed…." _ Ajas's eyes skimmed through the section dedicated to dark soul magick "[...]_multiple Horcruxes might ensure near-immortality[…]an object that contains one's fragment of soul[…]"_

It was so far the darkest magic he had ever read about. From it's nature to it's very own creation "_A human sacrifice […] pull out the heart with thy bare hands […] use the blood to trace the runes in a perfect magickal circle […] place the heart and the object on top of it in the middle of the circle […] recite […] rip the heart off with thy bare teeths and cut thyself […]spill the drops of blood onto the object…"_

And Ajas connected the dots together ; Slytherin's locket with a fragment of soul in it, Tom Riddle's diary containing a "memory" which can posess and wishes to regain a body, Voldemort's seeming immortality…

_The old coot of a headmaster probably knew about the diary being a horcrux all along. Why on earth does he keep this kind of information to himself? "Because I don't want to destroy your innocence, Harry…" blah blah blah. And wow, were the previous headmasters retarded or something? Keeping a book like this in a school's library, accessible to children…? - _Ajas chuckled for himself before reaching for the locket.

:What am I going to do with you?: He slipped in parseltongue. As an answer, the Horcrux hummed softly, warthm radiating from it. Ajas smiled, almost fondly for an unknown reason to himself before letting it drop on his chest, hidden under his robe.

:I will not fight against you, Lord Voldemort. At least not for now ; I will not fight against anyone. Let the prophecy be void until I can find out the truth: He whispered to the locket, sitting there and thinking about the new developments which occurred during the previous months.

He realised for a long time ago that no matter what he will be involved in this war ; as the prophecized child, as the boy who lived and who saw HIM return, as HIS son…as the used-to-be Hero of the Light, as the used-to-be archenemy of the dark. Yet, nothing obliges him to truly join a faction : he is leaning towards his own… The unpredictable one man army. That doesn't mean that he won't favor another side, that he won't rally , but he needs some time to examinate each forces with an objective eye (something that he had been lacking since early childhood) before chosing.

He also discovered that he was in fact Voldemort's son and Slytherin's heir. The implications might influence his decision ; whether Voldemort knew that Ajas, former Harry Potter, was his son, whether he learned it already, recently or not. And how will he act with this knowledge…It is very important to Ajas ; a father alienating his own flesh and blood might make of his son his true archenemy. Because Ajas now knows the key to Voldemort's downfall ; the destruction of his horcruxes. Yet, he could forgive his father if he did not knew about Ajas being his heir.

And the only way to learn about it was to contact his deceased mother and the only viable way Ajas saw was through the stone of ressurrection. Ajas knows of a potential place in which the hallow might be hidden and decided to investigate within the next week.

_If I seriously do get it and plan on becoming a true one-man-army, I should start seeking the third one to complete the collection…_He grinned before resuming his studies. He kept reading for hours, ignoring the timid sun smiling through the night's grayish clouds as golden rays penetrated his room. He then trained with his knives, trying to throw multiple ones accurately.

After that, he went checking for the potions he brewed several days ago ; colourful fumes escaped from the kitchen, embalming the atmosphere before reaching out to the windows. Several cauldrons were filled with simmering or boiling potions and Ajas decided that he should start bottling some of them. Revigorating draughts, strenghtening draughts,polyjuice...and some poisons. He was beginning to get satisfied with his potion's stock and always carry several vials on himself because they may become handy at some of the most unexpected times.

While pouring the colored liquids into small crystal containers, Ajas thought of the progress he made in his studies. He had major task at hand, such as retrieving the Hallow and eventually participate in a war : therefore he decided to postpone Hogwarts. He also took notice of the ministry organising NEWTs tests for people who were homeschooled or eventually foreigners.

When he was done with it, he putted on his glamour before going to Gringotts for the pensieve. The trip did not take more than 30 minutes and was both usual and dull. The black stone bassin now laid on his desk, empty . With trembling fingers, he poured the silvery threads out of a memory containing phial. After that, he plunged his face within the bassin….

Up out of the swirling, silvery mass rose a little old man revolving slowly in the Pensieve, silver as a ghost but much more solid, with a thatch of hair that completely covered his eyes.

_Looks familiar…_ Ajas glanced around before realising that it was the interior of the Borgin&Burke shop

"Yes, we acquired it in curious circumstances. It was brought in by a young witch just before Christmas, oh, many years ago now. She said she needed the gold badly, well, that much was obvious. Covered in rags and pretty far along…"

_Merope? _Ajas dared a guess.

"…Going to have a baby, see. She said the locket had been Slytherin's. Well, we hear that sort of story all the time, 'Oh, this was Merlin's, this was, his favorite teapot,' but when I looked at it, it had his mark all right, and a few simple spells were enough to tell me the truth. Of course, that made it near enough priceless. She didn't seem to have any idea how much it was worth. Happy to get ten Galleons for it. Best bargain we ever made!"

_He only paid 10 galleons to a pregnant women in a near deathlike state for a historically valuable artefact? _

"Fucking bastard…" Ajas muttered "So…basically, Merope somewhat ended up with Riddle Sr and it ended up badly…Riddle Sr was probably a bastard too for leaving a pregnant women on her own…"

_Oh nice parentage you got there Ajas. Morons and Retards…Luckily mum's side's a bit better. Wait, no, there's still Petunia. Damn. _Ajas was still curious about how Riddle Sr and Merope ended up together. After all, Riddle Sr was already engaged with that beautiful blonde muggle Cecilia and Merope wasn't exactly pretty either: the one night "stand" was out of question. Unless Riddle was extremely drunk... Merope was pity inducing but not love inducing and Ajas wasn't sure if Riddle Sr was able to have the slightest hint of empathy. Unless Merope used magic…_But she is a squib, right?_

…_._

_Oh. Love potion. But then why they broke up? _ Ajas tried to think for a valid reason. According to him the most probable theory was : Riddle Sr got drunk one day and slept with Merope (seeing how the girl was completely enamored by him), thus cheating on his fiancee. He got Merope pregnant, she told him about it and he refused to aknowledge her. Marvolo threw Merope out because she got impregnanted by a Muggle...

Ajas then gave up on verifying that hypothesis, considering that it was an unnecessary piece of information. _Drunk or not, love potion or not , Riddle Sr was still a downright pompous shitbag, no wonder why Voldemort hates him. That kind of guy seriously merits to rot in the seven pitches of hell…._

Ajas took another phial and poured the liquid into the pensieve, repeating his previous actions. He stood nearby a younger version of Albus Dumbledore, with auburn hair and beard. They were in what seemed to be London in the 40ies. Dumbledore paused for a while before passing through a set of iron gates leading to a bare courtyard. It fronted a rather grim, square building.

_Wool's Orphanage, _Ajas read the pannel above the entrance while Dumbledore knocked on it. The door was oppened by a scruffy girl wearing an apron

"Good afternoon. I have an appointment with a Mrs. Cole, who, I believe, is the matron here?"

"Oh," said the bewildered-looking girl, taking in Dumbledore's eccentric appearance. "Um… just a mo' …MRS. COLE!" she bellowed over her shoulder.

Dumbledore stepped into a hallway tiled in black and white. Before the front door had closed behind them, a skinny, harassed-looking woman came scurrying toward them. She had a sharp-featured face that appeared more anxious than unkind, and she was talking over her shoulder to another aproned helper as she walked toward Dumbledore.

". . . and take the iodine upstairs to Martha, Billy Stubbs has been picking his scabs and Eric Whalley's oozing all over his sheets — chicken pox on top of everything else," she said to nobody in particular, and then her eyes fell upon Dumbledore and she stopped dead in her tracks, looking as astonished as if a giraffe had just crossed her threshold.

"Good afternoon," said Dumbledore, holding out his hand. Mrs. Cole simply gaped.

"My name is Albus Dumbledore. I sent you a letter requesting an appointment and you very kindly invited me here today."

Mrs. Cole blinked. Apparently deciding that Dumbledore was not a hallucination, she said feebly, "Oh yes. Well — well then — you'd better come into my room. Yes."

She led Dumbledore into a small room that seemed part sitting room, part office. It was as shabby as the hallway and the furniture was old and mismatched. She invited Dumbledore to sit on a rickety chair and seated herself behind a cluttered desk, eyeing him nervously.

"I am here, as I told you in my letter, to discuss Tom Riddle and arrangements for his future," said Dumbledore.

_Yay first meeting. _

"Are you family?" asked Mrs. Cole.

"No, I am a teacher," said Dumbledore. "I have come to offer Tom a place at my school."

"What school's this, then?"

"It is called Hogwarts," said Dumbledore.

"And how come you're interested in Tom?"

"We believe he has qualities we are looking for."

"You mean he's won a scholarship? How can he have done? He's never been entered for one."

"Well, his name has been down for our school since birth —"

"Who registered him? His parents?"

There was no doubt that Mrs. Cole was an inconveniently sharp woman. Apparently Dumbledore thought so too, for Harry now saw him slip his wand out of the pocket of his velvet suit, at the same time picking up a piece of perfectly blank paper from Mrs. Cole's desktop.

"Here," said Dumbledore, waving his wand once as he passed her the piece of paper, "I think this will make everything clear."

Mrs. Cole's eyes slid out of focus and back again as she gazed intently at the blank paper for a moment.

"That seems perfectly in order," she said placidly, handing it back. Then her eyes fell upon a bottle of gin and two glasses that had certainly not been present a few seconds before.

"Er — may I offer you a glass of gin?" she said in an extra-refined voice.

"Thank you very much," said Dumbledore, beaming.

It soon became clear that Mrs. Cole was no novice when it came to gin drinking. Pouring both of them a generous measure, she drained her own glass in one gulp. Smacking her lips frankly, she smiled at Dumbledore for the first time, and he didn't hesitate to press his advantage.

"I was wondering whether you could tell me anything of Tom Riddle's history? I think he was born here in the orphanage?"

"That's right," said Mrs. Cole, helping herself to more gin. "I remember it clear as anything, because I'd just started here myself. New Year's Eve and bitter cold, snowing, you know. Nasty night. And this girl, not much older than I was myself at the time, came staggering up the front steps. Well, she wasn't the first. We took her in, and she had the baby within the hour. And she was dead in another hour."

Ajas couldn't help but feel sad each time he thought of Merope. She was probably worn out by then, energy-less. Giving birth became fatal

Mrs. Cole nodded impressively and took another generous gulp of gin.

"Did she say anything before she died?" asked Dumbledore. "Anything about the boy's father, for instance?"

"Now, as it happens, she did," said Mrs. Cole, who seemed to be rather enjoying herself now, with the gin in her hand and an eager audience for her story. "I remember she said to me, 'I hope he looks like his papa,' and I won't lie, she was right to hope it, because she was no beauty — and then she told me he was to be named Tom, for his father, and Marvolo, for her father — yes, I know, funny name, isn't it? We wondered whether she came from a circus — and she said the boy's surname was to be Riddle. And she died soon after that without another word. Well, we named him just as she'd said, it seemed so important to the poor girl, but no Tom nor Marvolo nor any kind of Riddle ever came looking for him, nor any family at all, so he stayed in the orphanage and he's been here ever since."

_Like I thought previously. Riddle Sr was a fucking bastard. Leaving his child in an orphanage._

Mrs. Cole helped herself, almost absentmindedly, to another healthy measure of gin. Two pink spots had appeared high on her cheekbones. Then she said, "He's a funny boy."

"Yes," said Dumbledore. "I thought he might be."

_Ofcourse he is. I was a "funny freak" myself._

"He was a funny baby too. He hardly ever cried, you know. And then, when he got a little older, he was. . . odd."

"Odd in what way?" asked Dumbledore gently.

"Well, he —"

But Mrs. Cole pulled up short, and there was nothing blurry or vague about the inquisitorial glance she shot Dumbledore over her gin glass.

"He's definitely got a place at your school, you say?"

"Definitely," said Dumbledore.

"And nothing I say can change that?"

"Nothing," said Dumbledore.

"You'll be taking him away, whatever?"

"Whatever," repeated Dumbledore gravely.

She squinted at him as though deciding whether or not to trust him. Apparently she decided she could, because she said in a sudden rush, "He scares the other children."

"You mean he is a bully?" asked Dumbledore.

"I think he must be," said Mrs. Cole, frowning slightly, "but it's very hard to catch him at it. There have been incidents. . . . Nasty things ..."

Dumbledore did not press her, though Ajas could tell that he was interested. She took yet another gulp of gin and her rosy cheeks grew rosier still.

"Billy Stubbs's rabbit. . . well, Tom said he didn't do it and I don't see how he could have done, but even so, it didn't hang itself from the rafters, did it?"

"I shouldn't think so, no," said Dumbledore quietly.

"But I'm jiggered if I know how he got up there to do it. All I know is he and Billy had argued the day before. And then" — Mrs. Cole took another swig of gin, slopping a little over her chin this time — "on the summer outing — we take them out, you know, once a year, to the countryside or to the seaside — well, Amy Benson and Dennis Bishop were never quite right afterwards, and all we ever got out of them was that they'd gone into a cave with Tom Riddle. He swore they'd just gone exploring, but something happened in there, I'm sure of it. And, well, there have been a lot of things, funny things. . . ."

Ajas felt that the story was a bit one-sided. Who knows how the other kids treated Tom? Perhaps they were a bunch of Dudley Dursleys. _If it's the case, no wonder why the child went insane…_

She looked around at Dumbledore again, and though her cheeks were flushed, her gaze was steady. "I don't think many people will be sorry to see the back of him."

_They probably all hate him. For being different…for being a freak._

"You understand, I'm sure, that we will not be keeping him permanently?" said Dumbledore. "He will have to return here, at the very least, every summer."

"Oh, well, that's better than a whack on the nose with a rusty poker," said Mrs. Cole with a slight hiccup. She got to her feet, and Harry was impressed to see that she was quite steady, even though two-thirds of the gin was now gone. "I suppose you'd like to see him?"

"Very much," said Dumbledore, rising too.

She led him out of her office and up the stone stairs, calling out instructions and admonitions to helpers and children as she passed. The orphans, Ajas saw, were all wearing the same kind of grayish tunic. They looked reasonably well-cared for, but there was no denying that this was a grim place in which to grow up. Ajas also noticed the several wooden crosses hung on the walls…

_A christian-run orphanage. _Ajas shuddered at the thought…._They probably treated Tom like a demon child…Exorcisms? Isolation?_

No one is born evil – The phrase rang within Ajas's mind. He was, after all, a fervent supporter of the nurture theory when it comes to nature vs nurture.

"Here we are," said Mrs. Cole, as they turned off the second landing and stopped outside the first door in a long corridor. She knocked twice and entered.

"Tom? You've got a visitor. This is Mr. Dumberton — sorry, Dunderbore. He's come to tell you — well, I'll let him do it."

Ajas and Dumbledore entered the room, and Mrs. Cole closed the door on them. It was a small bare room with nothing in it except an old wardrobe and an iron bedstead. A boy was sitting on top of the gray blankets, his legs stretched out in front of him, holding a book….

Ajas gasped.


End file.
